MONROE, CT — Monroe’s longtime tax collector, Deborah Heim, lives with a rare blood disorder that causes her white blood cells to attack the red cells. She needed a life-saving blood transfusion three years ago, and now takes autoimmune suppressants, while monitoring her symptoms.
Heim is involved in many community service organizations in town, including the Rotary Club of Monroe, which is joining the American Red Cross in sponsoring a blood drive in her honor.
“Well-known and incredibly active in our community, Deb is not just a Rotarian, but volunteers for nearly every civic group in Monroe,” the club’s press release says.
The blood drive will be held on Saturday, March 1, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 466 Elm St., from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“I’m very honored that they are doing it in my honor,” Heim said in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m not the only one out there, so it benefits everybody, because there’s always blood shortages and calls for blood.”
“A lot of people are afraid to give blood,” she said. “A lot of people told me they never gave blood before, but they’re going to do it because they know me. That’s very touching. Even if it doesn’t help me, somebody will benefit from it.”
Everyone who donates blood will have free A1C testing and a $10 Amazon gift card. To schedule an appointment, click here, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
“Deb has a rare autoimmune condition, and past treatment has required surgical procedures,” the Rotary Club said. “Deb also has a rare blood type, and challenges with our blood supply have caused significant delays to important interventions. Please, consider donating to keep our blood banks stocked for those like Deb who find themselves in need.”
Though these donations will not be used for Heim, she said, “there’s a lot of other people out there in need of it because of car accidents and surgeries. I never thought I would need one until this happened.”
A helicopter delivery
Heim has Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks red blood cells, causing severe anemia as it drops one’s red blood cell count. She has O-negative blood, but her type is harder to get for a transfusion, because she needs an exact match.
Heim first realized something was wrong after having two COVID vaccination shots three years ago. Two weeks after receiving the booster shot, she had to be taken to the hospital.
Heim, who is a Stepney volunteer firefighter in town, attended a meeting one Thursday in 2022. Another firefighter, who’s also a paramedic, noticed something was wrong.
“I was having difficulty speaking,” Heim said. “I had to catch my breath. After the meeting, he said, ‘you don’t look good.’ I said, ‘I’ll be okay,’ and he said, ‘nope, I’m taking you to the hospital.'”
Heim’s blood level was dangerously low. “If I waited a couple more days, they said I wouldn’t be here,” she said of what doctors had told her. “They had to bring blood by helicopter. I believe it came from Rhode Island, and it took a couple days.”
Heim remembers looking out the window of her room at St. Vincent’s Medical Center as the helicopter landed on the helipad outside.
“The nurse said, ‘there’s your blood coming in.’ They still had to test it to make sure it was a perfect match,” Heim said, “and then she said, ‘you’ll feel a whole lot better after this — and I did.”
Heim was able to go home on Sunday night of that week.
While doctors diagnosed her condition, Heim had to visit St. Vincent’s cancer center for a blood transfusion every Friday for six weeks.
The difficulty of obtaining her blood type posed a challenge when Heim went to St. Vincent’s for lung surgery last year. She had arrived at the hospital, was hooked up to an IV, and was ready to go.
“They gave the anesthesia already, when the surgeon said they had to postpone it,” she recalled. “My blood wasn’t available, so they had to wait three days to do the surgery.”
Heim said she has been doing well lately.
“Now I’m on a pill,” she said. “It’s a lot better than a cancer center for transfusions for four-or-five hours. I’m on autoimmune suppressants, but it can come back at any time.”
Heim said she knows her blood levels have dropped when she feels light headed and sleepy. “It’s something I have to live with,” she said.
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