Payton's New Heart

03/25/2026

I wrote a published article in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation… and I still can’t quite believe I get to say that. 🤍

This isn’t just something I contributed to—I wrote it.

Every word comes from lived experience. From being a heart transplant recipient. From navigating medications like everolimus. From fighting insurance barriers that stand between patients and the treatments that keep us alive.

This article is science—but it’s also my story.

It’s the reality of what transplant patients face every day: not just surviving, but advocating, pushing, and refusing to be ignored when access to care is on the line.

I didn’t write this just for me.
I wrote it for every transplant patient who has had to fight to be heard.
I wrote it for my donor, Christian, whose heart gave me a second chance at life.
And I wrote it with deep love and respect for his mom, Mary.

Being published means something—but using my voice to create change means everything.

If you’d like to read it:
🔗 https://www.jhltonline.org/article/S1053-2498(26)01798-5/abstract

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey. I’m just getting started.

Access to immunosuppressive therapy is essential for long-term survival in heart transplant recipients, yet insurance coverage does not always translate into meaningful access. This perspective introduces the concept of “ghost approval,” in which a medication is technically approved but remains ...

03/18/2026

Today is my 14th heart birthday. 🫀💚

Fourteen years ago, I was given the most sacred gift of my life — a second chance to live.

Since then, this heart has carried me through 14 years of life I might never have had. It has carried me through joy, pain, growth, fear, hope, and more moments than I can count. It has beat through every tear, every victory, every setback, and every blessing. And today, I am overwhelmed by the reality that I am still here because of a gift born from someone else’s loss.

That truth never gets lighter. If anything, it grows deeper with time.

My heart birthday is not just a celebration. It is also a remembrance. It is a day that holds gratitude so deep it aches. A day to honor Christian, to honor the love and sacrifice of his family, and to reflect on the incredible weight of what it means to be given more time.

This year, as I continue fighting for the medication that helps keep this heart safe, I feel the meaning of this day even more deeply. I know how precious this gift is. I know how hard I will fight for it. And I know that every single beat is a reminder that life is both unbelievably fragile and unbelievably beautiful.

14 years later, this heart is still beating.
14 years later, I am still here.
And I will never stop being grateful for this life, this gift, and this extraordinary heart that saved me.

Happy 14th heart birthday to me. 💚

03/11/2026

I was recently interviewed by CBS News / KFF Health News about the challenges patients face with health insurance prior authorizations, and my experience was included in their story alongside other patients who have gone through similar situations.

It’s not easy to share personal experiences like this, but I hope that by speaking up, it helps shine a light on what many patients and families deal with when trying to get the care their doctors recommend.

I’m grateful to the journalists who are bringing attention to this issue and to the other patients who were willing to share their stories as well.

If you’d like to read the article, you can find it here:

Last summer, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by health insurers to reform prior authorization, but patient advocates and medical providers remain skeptical.

03/04/2026

Network for Hope shared my story, and I’m really honored. 💚
With my second birthday coming up (my heart transplant anniversary), I’m feeling extra grateful for my donor, his family, and the gift of organ donation.

If you have a minute, I’d love for you to read and share:

Thankfully, a donor gave me a heart and the gift of life. My surgery was on a Sunday, March 18, a day that we now celebrate as a second birthday.

03/04/2026

Dayton Daily News just published an article about my ongoing fight to access the anti-rejection medication that protects my donor heart. The story explains that in 2025, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield denied and delayed coverage for months, even though I’ve taken everolimus (Zortress) for more than a decade—leaving me close to running out and unable to switch medications due to severe side effects.

The article also explains that everolimus is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for kidney and liver transplants, and my doctors prescribing it for heart transplant is considered “off-label,” which became part of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield/Carelon's reasoning for denials.

Even after it was approved again, the cost has been much higher than what I paid for years (DDN reports about $1,300+ for 90 days at retail and around $400 for 90 days through mail order).

I’m also working on a long-term solution by pushing for updated FDA labeling/approval so heart-transplant patients aren’t put in this position. My Change.org petition explains that I’m asking the FDA and Novartis to update Everolimus’s labeling for heart-transplant patients.

📰 Dayton Daily News: https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/heart-transplant-recipient-struggles-to-get-life-saving-medication-to-protect-her-heart/SQLCEA3DVJA7JA2HGEXBVCIHNU/

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/urge-novartis-to-seek-fda-approval-of-everolimus-for-heart-transplant-patients

Urge Novartis to Seek FDA Approval of Everolimus for Heart Transplant Patients

02/28/2026

💕

On the last day of American Heart Month, we are highlighting two heart transplant recipients – Payton Herres and Pat McEntee!

Payton received her life-saving heart transplant in 2012, and Pat received his life-saving heart transplant in 2017. These two grateful recipients recently teamed up to educate Wright State University basketball fans about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation.

Show your 💗 by saying "yes" to saving lives at https://bit.ly/3XOof69.

02/23/2026

Sometimes I want to give up—because this is exhausting.

But when it comes to a transplanted organ, you don’t get the luxury of giving up.

Thank you WDTN-TV and Avery Feldman for interviewing me as I keep fighting for access to the medication that keeps my heart safe. Please watch and share. 💛🫀

Petition: https://c.org/HJQdh8xSF9

02/16/2026

So honored to have my transplant story shared by Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute. 💛

From being born with Ebstein’s Anomaly to receiving my new heart on March 18, 2012, this journey has shaped everything I am. Forever grateful to my donor for saving my life. 🫶🏻

02/14/2026

Today is National Donor Day, and I’m here because of organ donation.

I wrote this tribute to honor Christian and to remind people that one “yes” can save lives and change families forever.

If you’ve ever thought about registering as an organ donor, please do it today. 🤍

I was born with congenital heart disease, so hospitals, medications, and surgeries were never “new” to me—they were just part of my life. While other kids were running around carefree, I was learning medical terms, being careful about germs, and spending more time with doctors and nurses than ...

02/13/2026

Today I posted a tribute to my heart donor, Christian Caruana, on the Donate Life America Tribute Wall. ❤️

I’m alive because Christian was an organ donor — and because Mary, Christian’s mom, chose to donate his organs on the hardest day of her life. Her “yes” gave me a future, and I don’t take a single moment for granted.

Christian, you are remembered, loved, and honored—always.
Mary, thank you. Your courage and love changed my life. ❤️

These volunteer photos are from when I helped with Life Connection of Ohio — because I’ll always do what I can to honor Christian by encouraging donation and supporting donor families and recipients.

If you’re considering registering, please know this: organ donation saves lives, and a family’s “yes” can become someone else’s tomorrow. ❤️

02/11/2026

I want to give a huge thank you to Keaton Herzer for making a video about my situation and calling out Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Elevance Health Foundation for hiding comments instead of responding.

I have contacted the Ohio Department of Insurance and reached out to my Congressman and a U.S. Senator, but I haven’t gotten much response so far — which is why public pressure is so important right now

02/10/2026

Keaton Herzer posted a reel today that explains my situation so well. He said denial is only one strategy insurance companies use — they can also decide after years to stop covering a medication someone needs to stay alive.

He shared my story: I’m Payton from Dayton. I had a heart transplant at 11 and I’ve been on an anti-rejection med for years. Now Anthem “changed their mind,” won’t cover it, it costs thousands, and it’s even been marked inactive in my portal — making it harder to fill a med that keeps my transplanted heart safe.

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/urge-novartis-to-seek-fda-approval-of-everolimus-for-heart-transplant-patients