A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
COMMUNITY • RECORDS
Signing up to save a life
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Cindy McIntyre was dying.
On July 8, 2014, she
was in the intensive care
unit of Oregon Health and
Sciences University, suffer-
ing from congestive heart
failure and fading fast. The
57-year-old
Hermiston
woman had already had her
“inal conversation” with
her sons. Steve, her hus-
band of 39 years, was glued
to her side, and now her sis-
ters were there, too.
“I thought, ‘Oh that’s
nice they’re here for a
visit,’” she said. “Later I
found out they were there
for Steve because everyone
knew it was just hours be-
fore I was going to expire.”
Instead, a miracle hap-
pened.
“The doctor said, ‘How
would you like a transplant
tonight?” she said.
Twenty-two people in
the United States die each
day waiting for a life-sav-
ing organ transplant, but
Cindy was not going to be
one of them. A life had end-
ed somewhere that day, and
the deceased had been an
organ donor.
Steve said the transplant
was cutting it so close that
the surgeons didn’t even
have time to attach all of the
nerves in his wife’s chest,
like they usually would,
leaving her with some lin-
gering numbness and cold
issues.
“They were already
starting to take her heart out
while the other heart was
being prepped,” he said.
Later, the couple found
out that a Umatilla man
had been on the transplant
list ahead of Cindy but had
agreed to give her the heart
available that day, rolling
the dice on his life in order
to save hers. He received
a transplant of his own a
month later.
The McIntyres are just
one example of Oregonians
who were more than will-
ing to recognize DMV Ap-
preciation Week this week.
Many associate the Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles
with nothing but long lines
and failed driver’s tests, but
for those whose lives have
been touched by the organ
donation process the DMV
is a literal lifesaver.
Leslie Brock, executive
director of Donate Life
NW, said before the DMV
started asking people if
they wanted to be organ do-
nors, about three percent of
Oregonians were on the list.
Today, 75 percent of people
in the state who are eligible
to be an organ donor are.
“We’ve got some very
generous and amazing peo-
ple in the state,” she said,
noting that the national av-
erage is 52 percent.
Oregonians can sign
up online at www.do-
natelifenw.org to become
an organ donor starting at
age 13, but 98 percent of
the state’s sign-ups come
from the DMV.
“Without their staff ask-
ing that question, we would
not be able to save as many
lives as we do,” she said.
After her own heart
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Cindy and Steve McIntyre share a moment Friday at McKenzie
Park. The Hermiston couple has held strong to each other
through Cindy’s congestive heart failure and a heart
transplant that came in the eleventh hour.
transplant ordeal, Cindy
said she has become an ad-
vocate for organ donation.
Last week, in Enterprise
she gave her irst school
presentation for Donate
Life NW.
She said when she
signed up to be an organ
donor years before her own
heart troubles, she thought
of herself as a hero ready to
save lives should the worst
happen. Instead, in 2011
she woke up to ind her hus-
band pounding her chest af-
ter she had turned blue and
blacked out. It was the irst
of many heart-related epi-
sodes, caused by a genetic
defect, that continued after
she had a pacemaker put
in. The pacemaker saved
her life 54 times before she
stopped counting.
“I’ve had eight Life-
Flights and I don’t know
how many ambulance
trips,” she said.
Cindy’s new heart not
only saved her life, but im-
proved it by stopping the
frequent trips to the hos-
pital and fear of the next
blackout.
Transplant life isn’t al-
ways easy, however. The
sound of a helicopter can
trigger feelings of PTSD.
She is on 20 different types
of medication and had to
take an early retirement from
Hermiston School District
due to the way the anti-re-
jection medications suppress
her immune system.
“Once you have the
transplant, it’s a never-end-
ing story,” Steve said.
But she’s alive. Cindy
and Steve treasure their
time together, and love
going to movies or vis-
iting family. Just seeing
something beautiful like a
rainbow reminds Cindy of
all the things she has to be
grateful for, she said.
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Cindy and Steve McIntyre have held strong to each other
through Cindy’s congestive heart failure and a heart
transplant that came during the eleventh hour.
Worship
LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
REPORTS:
continued from Page A5
truck picking up a portable toilet at
Second Street and Quincy Avenue,
Umatilla, ran over and killed a cat.
6:40 p.m. - Several ducklings
found a new home. A Boardman
resident reported driving home in
the morning and seeing the young
fowl waddle onto Paul Smith Road.
He said he took them home and will
keep them until someone claims
them.
ARRESTS, CITATIONS
MONDAY
•Umatilla County Sherif’s Oice
arrested Cody Josiah Winn, 37, of
Hermiston, for possession of Hydroco-
done, harassment and supplying
contraband (drugs), after a woman
at 5:53 p.m. reported Winn may have
violated a restraining order.
SUNDAY
•Hermiston police arrested
Martin Ornelas, 28, of Hermiston, for
irst-degree burglary, second-degree
mischief and violating post-prison
supervision.
SATURDAY
•Morrow County Sherif’s Oice
arrested Leobardo Jacquez III, 40,
of Boardman, for unauthorized use
of vehicle and on three warrants for
failure to appear.
FRIDAY
•Morrow County sherif’s deputies
responded a little after 10 a.m. to a
report of a domestic disturbance at
Northwestern Motel & RV Park, 389 N.
Main St., Heppner. There, they found
William Ray Beaver, 27, who had
felony warrants from Spokane police
and the Washington Department of
Correction for escaping from custody.
Deputies placed him behind bars in
the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton.
THURSDAY
•Umatilla police at 8:53 a.m. re-
ceived a call to respond to the Cross-
roads Truck Stop, 2020 Highway 730,
for an intoxicated driver in a green
vehicle that ran into a yellow pole.
Police arrived and arrested Douglas
Harold Loundagin, 52, of Richland,
Washington, for driving under the
inluence of intoxicants (alcohol).
•Hermiston police arrested
Christopher Deshawn Sullivan, 29, no
address provided, for unauthorized
costs and fees.
COURTS:
continued from Page A5
fees.
•Ray Klein Inc. vs. John L. and Ka-
trina M. Mattila: judgment for $434.20
plus interest, costs and fees.
•Credits Inc. vs. Luis R. Gutierrez:
judgment for $1,527.17 plus interest,
•Credits Inc. vs. Angelica Pacheco:
judgment for $643.46 plus interest,
costs and fees.
•Credits Inc. vs. Heidi Howard:
judgment for $3,277.34 plus interest,
costs and fees.
use of vehicle after a 9-1-1 caller at
9:19 a.m. reported he made a delivery
at Columbia Auto Body & Paint, 955 N.
First Place, and a man stole his white
box van.
WEDNESDAY
•Hermiston police arrested
Jessica Cruz, 32, of Hermiston, on a
failure-to-appear warrant and for
possession of methamphetamine.
•Morrow County Sherif’s Oice
arrested Kayla Marie Connell, 24, of
1072 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston, for
reckless driving and unauthorized use
of a vehicle.
YOU’RE INVITED TO A
MEDICARE
BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Are you turning 65 between
now and the end of September?
If so, we would love to see you!
Join us for a FREE and
fun event & learn more
about Medicare
• The basics of Medicare
• Your rights & responsibilities
• Social Security & Disability Benefits
Saturday, Oct. 1
10am-1pm
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
First Christian
Church
“Proclaiming the Message of
Hope, Living the Gospel of Love”
Bible School 9:15 AM
Worship Gathering 10:30 AM
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
NEW HOPE
COMMUNITY CHURCH
1350 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston
Sunday Worship Services
English- Pastor Dave Andrus
9:00 & 10:45 am
Spanish- Pastor Genaro Loredo
9:00 & 10:15 am
Classes for kids during all
services
For more information call
541-567-8441
GSMC Conference Center #1
Grace Baptist Church
Sponsored by:
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Good Shepherd Medical Center
SHIBA Office
Questions? Call 541-667-3507
or hosborne@gshealth.org
•Credits Inc. vs. Jonathan R. and
Shannon Lunzmann: judgment for
$970.44 plus interest, costs and fees.
Nursery provided for all services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 pm
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
567-8241
855 W. Highland • Hermiston
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
National Coffee Day
1255 Hwy. 395 S. • 567-5834
oasisvineyard.us
Worship 10:00 AM
“come as you are”
DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday
...............................English 7:00 am
Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm
SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm
...............................Spanish 7:00 pm
SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am
..........................Bilingual 11:00 am
..............................Spanish 1:00 pm
Ofice..............................567-5812
Echo
The Full Gospel
Home Church
21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR
Phone: (541) 376-8108
235 SW 3rd
Phone 567-7678
Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker
Sunday:
Sunday School........10:00 am
Worship...................11:00 am
Evening Service........7:00 pm
Wednesday Service..7:00 pm
“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
Community Church
Sunday School • 9:30am
Worship • 10:45am
Children’s Church • 11:15am
Potluck & Communion ~
First Sunday of the Month
NEW BEGINNINGS
CELEBRATING
National Coffee Day
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church
& Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
September 29th
To share your worship times call
1379 N. First St. Hermiston, Or. 97838
Terri Briggs
541-567-6020
541-278-2678
Mon-Fri 4am-9pm • Sat-Sun 5:30am-9pm
