Woman undergoes heart transplant on her wedding day

An Indiana woman who has been battling heart disease most of her life was getting ready to walk down the aisle when she received a life-changing phone call.

Kimberly Woods, 21, was preparing to wed her partner Tony in at the end of September 2021.

Four days before the ceremony, she received a phone call telling her they had found a heart for her.

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Faced with the prospect of having to delay her wedding , Kimberly and Tony spoke with their families and together decided to move up their nuptials, marrying in the morning and driving to the hospital for Kimberly's heart transplant that same afternoon.

After some medical scares during her recovery, Kimberly is doing better and is reflecting on her good fortune.

"I'm doing well," she tells 9Honey. "Yes I have recovered. Definitely have good days and bad days."

Kimberly and Tony were married at Grace Community Church, in Goshen, Indiana where vows were exchanged quickly before a car drove them to the hospital located a few hours away.

She says it was amazing to receive the news she'd be receiving a heart but it was also scary knowing she'd be undergoing major surgery that afternoon.

"Definitely scared because we weren't expecting the call so soon," she tells 9Honey. "The doctors said it would be a couple years. I was only on the list for about a month."

She later told Cleveland Clinic: "We had planned our wedding for a year, and we knew it wasn't going to happen the way we had planned. But we didn't want to wait until after the transplant to do it.

"Everything was so rushed, it felt like a blur. But we were able to be in the moment. It wasn't our dream wedding, but it still was perfect."

Kimberly suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), diagnosed at a young age. Hers is a genetic condition. Her mother and brother both suffer from HCM and her mother has also undergone a heart transplant.

Since her own procedure, Kimberly has suffered some setbacks including infections and fluid on the brain but every step of the way, Tony has been by her side.

She has been keeping her supporters updated on her condition on Facebook and despite having received a heart transplant, her medical situation remains complicated and she is being monitored closely.

Kimberly has been monitored for rejection of the new organ and so far so good.

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"Update from this past Tuesday! Everything went smoothly. Tony and I were in and out. My heart rejection came back as a 1!" she writes.

"Which is great! But one of my blood tests came back low. But they knew it was probably going to because of a mix up. So today Tony I had to go back and get some blood work done.

"My next biopsy is Tuesday. We're praying for another smooth day and for peace. And then on Thursday I have a CT scan and appointment for the right side of my brain. Please be praying for peace and complete healing.

"Tony and I can't thank you guys enough for all the prayers. We love you guys."