Finishing NYC marathon 9 months after heart transplant.

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IT -AKES HEABT TO RU\I A 26 VIILE RAOE
\,I\IE VIO\_tHS AFTER A TRAN S PLA\IT O PERATI O \I
doesn't faze Peier Sinnott lll ihat he finishecl '44,995th out of 45,000"
participants in ast Nlovember's New York City lVlarathon. What's irrporlant, he knows, is ihat he really put his heart into the etforl-even tl-ror,rgh
it wasn'i the heari lre was born with. A little more than nine months earier, Sirrnott, 69, iracl a irearl iransplant,
Organ transplant recipierrts are iolcl thai lhe point ci their major oper?tion is lo enable ihem io relurn l:o an acrive life, ancl Sinrrort takes
1t
that objective seriously. Vvestchester Healfh
I
L,Le's JLine 20.10 issue iold
the story of Sirlnoit's illness, lifesaving iranslllarrt arrcl sojourn orr ihe
sKr
siopes jusi six weeks after lris operarrion. Tlre arricle r-licl rrot rneniion his
'lther siaiecl goal, lowever. "l iolcl r1.rv clcctor', 'li yor-i 3irre ire.r iler-ieci
reari, I'll alo ihe rarathori, " r-r6 ssys. His cioctor. Alan Gass ivl D., Directof
It Hearl Failr-rre, itrlecharrical Circulatory Sr-;ltpcr-i ancl Hearr l-ansllant at
Westcirester itrleclicar ier.ier, lracl iro aloLtlti ire virculcl-ev-or. :i'roriEh he':i
'rever hearcl
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lt
a llatier-i i-irnirrg in
FEB.,. I ri:.-
,.::i:,:HErrLrH;.,.,,
a larathor-l so socn arter.,r irlrrslrlarr.t.
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"When Peter says he'll do sometlring, he does ii," Dr. Gass says,
"wiih or without my biessir,r;.'
Six weeks before tlre -...rrail:on, Sinnolt. a Rye resident who owns a
real estate manag1ement c(jr--,r,ariy, joined the Achilles Track Club, a clr-rb
ihai sllecializes ln irelping ,.r'r-vsicall)'challeilgecl aihletes compete. 'We
rnet ev'ery Saturclay io v\/!:.r .rroLrncl the Central Park reservoir," Sinnott
says. 'lt irvas harcl at lirsi. ':,,-1r as witlr arry exercise, yoLi gel aclclictecl io
.l
ii." He \^/orkecl Lrll io walkrr'-: srx rniles a clay, eventLlally cloing 0 rniles.
gLrt ihai's rrot ever irali oi r 26.2-mile rnar-eiii1,::1.
"The cla-v oi ihe race, i iv:,'j ariille a;:preirensive, but orrce lstadecl
i :irrew l was going io ira(e ll,' il€ recall5. i le was more v\rorriecl for :tis
l\, '^/ho iracin'i trained at ail ior ihe r]raralhorr
.lrcl '/vhcse joll it,.,vas io,-ral'y ir-r it itackllaci( ioocl, 'rvat"r atrcl l.he meclica.cr. Sir-nOtt iras lO iake e'rer,/ ilrree irourS.
.l
,\i:,ri:or-t ilre /'ririle r.t.rtT!< :il i:irst \veirr-,e ancl 7511r Sl., Strrrroii'ryas
gLrcie, his sorr Perer Sirrnott
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GI\/E TI_IE GIFT
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1
4 s 1ot onlt
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
Runner Pcter Sinnott lll at
the 1-mile mark in last fall's
New York City Marathon;
with his doctor, Alan Gass,
M.D. (left) and his son,
LIFE
ON \lA, rof]A- DCNIOFI
F3brLrary
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r-r'+Y
Valeniine s Day; it's
the 1oth airnuar iJational Donor Day-
I
lronors crgan clonors. Ancl wnat
betler day to comrr t to helping ihe more
ihan 100.00C American men. women and
cnildren wartirg ior an oigan ior iransplant?
F I oui an organ ano rissue dona iuq
a day that
,
I
I
Peter Sinnott lV; runners
I
and spectators; marathoner
Sinnott with his family
car 1, regisier virr, th-c Nleu/ York Orga.
DOIO. Nletwork. anA rnake ;Lrre yOUr
iam,tr xno,ars you vai'i .l aJe a oonoi :or
mf,re i:.iJrmation. lo :r dcnatelifeny.org
or organdonor.gov
i,; ,
rt
:rienci-Dr. Gass, wno rirres nearby. The ir,nro walked logether
for a coLrple of rniles, "He saicl I lool.ied great, ancl askecl rne how lfelt,"
Sinnott says. "l told him ihat from the waist Lrp I was perfect. From the
\/vaist clo\ /n, my legs were really tired. Then he askecl if I was going to
rrrake it. I saicl, Of course."'
joinecl by a
Thai night, he saicl i1e'd nerrer do another rrarathon. But aiter a day's
resi ancl a massage, he walkecl another six miles. And that has him
lhinking about next year's rnarathon. lf he enters lhat or1e, he won't be
satisfied witr 44,995th lrlace. "lVly goal this year was to finish, but next
time I won't iJe near ihe back," he vows, "l urill run rt."
"Perer rel:resents exactly whai you want to see in a iransplant
llatieni," Dr. Gass says. 'He's very rrotivatecl; ne neveT looks lrack, crrly
ioruirarcl: ancl ile,-irlclersrancls whar vvas given io irim. Fvery iransplant
l)aiient stafts al ihe same stailing line, ilLrt some do lrlrenomenally well
arrcl sorre .lon't. lt's lhe inner heari, rrot rhe transplantecl heafi, ihat
Sinnott arrcl his son walkecl the eniire roLlte-unril lhe linal 'l 0C yarcls.
'Corle on, lei's r-Lln across lhe finisl'r line. " he fe(l.ills. By
ihen, .10 irours ancl l0 rrinutes after the star1, mosr ti ihe,'ace,-fiict:ris
''l saicl io Peier,
irorre, i:L-tl ihere wer-o Siill Some lefi io ix/varcl ihe fatner arrLi
30n iheir official r'neclals. Slnnolt was exharrstecl. "l nray ha're rl 35 i:arllcl ir--311, i:ui i stlll irarie lg ,/eai-olcl itci'res,' ire luilts.
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