Transformed through a heart transplant

Today, a special treat - two inspiring stories in one.

First, the saga of Jim Lobb, 61, of Narberth, an investment manager whose current health is, as he puts it, "phenomenal."

It wasn't always so. In ROTC at the University of South Carolina, he flunked the physical, dashing his dream to be a pilot. He had a heart murmur, and signs of a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which occurs when the heart muscle grows too thick. As the heart gets bigger, its chambers get smaller, interfering with its ability to pump enough blood.

Some people have no symptoms, but others feel chest pain. For some, the heart pumps at a rate that's too fast, slow, or uneven, which can cause sudden death. When it pumps poorly or doesn't relax between beats as it should, the heart can fail.

Lobb's condition did not keep him from playing soccer and recreational volleyball. In his 20s, he felt "bulletproof." He sometimes had shortness of breath climbing stairs or pain in his arms during robust exertion.

What Lobb calls his "eye opener" was a stroke in the fall of 2000, when he was 49. He was taking a shower when "I couldn't put thoughts together," he says. As he looked at a photograph of his children, he was confused. Alarmed, his wife, Pat, called a neighbor, a physician who works at Jefferson University Hospital, who took him to the ER.

The stroke passed with no permanent damage, but five years later, in Atlanta, he collapsed. "I couldn't talk or move my left side," he recalls.

Two hours later, his motor skills returned, but he couldn't speak. All he could say was, "Oh, s-!" Determined to get home, he foolishly drove his rental car to the airport. After he disembarked in Philadelphia, a friend rushed him to the Jefferson ER, where doctors diagnosed his ailment and implanted a defibrillator in his chest to stablize his heart.

By that time, Lobb was in his mid-50s. After burning out three defibrillators, he visited the Minneapolis Heart Institute, where the head surgeon was blunt. "If you don't get a heart transplant within five years, you'll be dead."

Lobb decided to have the operation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania by head heart surgeon Michael Acker. Two days after he was admitted, a heart was found, but its quality was poor. Three weeks later, his surgeon announced that a "perfect" heart had become available.

The new heart was implanted in Lobb's chest, and nine days later, he walked out of the hospital. For six months, he recuperated at home. He considers Nov. 21, 2010, when he received his transplant, his "birthday," and through social workers he sends a thank-you card to the family of the donor, whose name he doesn't know.

To aid his recovery, he joined the Sporting Club at the Bellevue. where he met personal trainer Katherine McFetridge, 24, of Center City. McFetridge, who grew up in West Deptford, was a tomboy who rode horses and in high school played field hockey and captained the basketball team.

After enrolling at the University of Southern California, she was looking for a meeting of the field hockey squad when she stumbled into a meeting of the crew team. The coach took one look at her tall frame (5-foot-10) and long, muscular limbs and signed her up on the spot. McFetridge knew she was in for a challenge. Many of her teammates were recruited from Europe and had years of world-class experience.

"I didn't care," McFetridge says. "I immediately loved the sport and I wanted to be good by becoming part of the team."

Partly due to her attitude and winning personality, McFetridge was elected captain of the novice team. As a junior, she was elected captain of the entire team, and in her senior year, she was given a full athletic scholarship. She also had her share of success on the water.

In 2006, rowing in the varsity four, she came in fourth in the NCAA championships. As a single sculler, she placed eighth in the 2011 Head of the Charles Regatta and seventh in the trials for the 2012 Olympics. "It convinced me I could row with the big dogs," she says.

McFetridge belongs to the Undine Barge Club and rows twice a day, 100 to 120 miles a week during peak training. She plans to go to medical school, but now she's focused on going to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

While she is helping Lobb improve his strength, balance and stability, he is helping her sharpen her appeals to training sponsors. McFetridge describes Lobb as "an excellent client," always optimistic. Lobb says of McFetridge: "You can't help but notice the energy and smile. She's always up."

McFetridge has persuaded Lobb to participate in the Transplant Games of America next summer in Houston.

"Just go for it!" she exhorts.

For more about McFetridge's quest for Rio, visit www.katherinemcfetridge.com.

"Well Being" appears every other week, alternating with Sandy Bauers' "GreenSpace" column. Contact Art Carey at art.carey@gmail.com. Read his recent columns at www.philly.com/wellbeing.