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Merle Zuel got a second chance at life, and he’s determined to make the most of it.

At age 10, doctors discovered a defective aortic valve in Zuel’s heart, and at age 34, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. His life’s turning point and his second chance came in 2007, when Zuel received a heart transplant.

“Things that mattered before, you just look at differently now,” said Zuel, who moved to Bonner Springs in August 2007.

It’s been three years now and with a healthy body and a healthy outlook, Zuel is preparing for the “ride of a lifetime.”

After undergoing his heart transplant, Zuel has become immersed in the transplant community. In March, while doing some research online, Zuel came across the Astellas Ride of a Lifetime essay contest. The contest asked transplant patients to share their experiences and how their transplants impacted their lives and five national winners would be chosen to ride on the 2009 Donate Life Rose Parade float during the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

Zuel decided to enter and with great shock to him, was chosen as one of the five winners.

“I had no idea this would happen,” Zuel said. “I just ran across (the contest) and thought, ‘What the hell.’ It was a nice surprise.”

Zuel will leave for Pasadena, Calif., on Dec. 28, and will ride on the float in the parade on New Year’s Day. The Donate Life Rose Parade float is intended to celebrate individuals whose lives have been touched by transplants. In addition to riding on the float, the five winners will meet other transplant recipients from around the country, work with a team to help build the float and attend receptions honoring the transplant community.

“There are a lot of stories out there that are pretty touching,” Zuel said of his excitement of meeting other transplant patients as well as family members of transplant donors. “I think it’ll be surreal. I see (the parade) every year on TV, but to take part is kind of surreal.”

This won’t be the first time, however, that Zuel has taken an active role in the transplant community.

Before even receiving his own heart transplant, Zuel began planning a benefit concert called Merle Jam. The first concert was in May 2007 at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City, Mo., where Zuel has been a longtime employee, and raised more than $7,000. In May 2008 the second annual Merle Jam raised more than $4,000. A third concert is already in the planning process for May, 2, 2009.

Zuel said the money is given to St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., where he received his own transplant, and is for patient expenses that are not covered by insurance, such as traveling to and from the hospital.

Merle also has several upcoming speaking engagements that will take him around the area talking with donor families and transplant patients about his experience.

For Merle, it’s like being in “a special club” and he intends to be as involved as possible. When visiting St. Luke’s, Merle said nurses often ask him to talk to patients who are going through an experience similar to his.

“I’m just doing what I can to give back to the system, because it was good to me so I want to what I can to make it better for others,” he said.

In addition to feeling better and being more active, there was one more benefit that came out of Zuel’s experience. While going through the transplantation process, Zuel met and fell in love with a woman who is now his fiancé. Kim Cramer was a respiratory therapist at the hospital and she bonded with Zuel over a love of music.

After several attempts at flirting in the hospital, Zuel invited Cramer to a concert for a band he knew she liked at Knuckleheads Saloon. The two spent the night talking and getting to know one another and soon began dating.

“She’s been very supportive throughout everything,” Zuel said. “She’s just a good woman who’s been there for me.”

The two have been together for 15 months and are now planning their wedding. Cramer will accompany Zuel on his trip to Pasadena in December. For Zuel, there couldn’t have been a better ending to the whole ordeal.

“It’s been kind of an interesting ride. I had to fight a lot but I’ve been lucky so far and there’s still more to come,” he said. “I’m in the bonus round of life.”

To read Zuel’s winning essay about his heart transplant, visit transplantexperience.com.

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