A Grammy Award-winning bassist, Larry Johnson is also a 60-year-old survivor of heart disease. After living with heart problems for almost 50 years, Larry was told he needed a new heart in 2009. He received a heart later that year, and Larry's gratitude for his gift of life knows no bounds. "After healing from the heart transplant surgery, I began to feel like a new person," said Larry. I am now able to spend quality time with my family, continue to make music and do a little fishing, too. I am truly a blessed man and my wife and I will be forever grateful to my donor and his family."

Larry's Story

Bass player Larry Johnson won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Traditional Blues Album for his contribution to the album Last of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas. He is also a 60-year-old survivor of heart disease.

At age six, Larry was hospitalized with strep throat, which, unbeknown to his parents, damaged his aortic valve. At age 25, during a routine job physical, a heart murmur was detected, and fifteen years later he had his first open heart surgery. Larry had a second open heart surgery seven years later, in 2000, because the aortic valve continued to leak.

In 2005, his cardiologist convinced him to have a defibrillator placed in his chest. Larry had complained about the defibrillator for four years, but one morning, a few months after being placed on the heart transplant waiting list, Larry had a heart attack and the defibrillator knocked him to the floor and saved his life.

His wife, Angela, took Larry to Methodist Hospital in Houston, where he remained in a hospital bed awaiting a heart transplant. After 35 days, Larry received the gift of life.

Larry's gratitude knows no bounds. "After healing from the heart transplant surgery, I began to feel like a new person," said Larry. "I am now able to spend quality time with my wife, our four children and ten grandchildren. For the last three years, I have been able to continue to make music and do a little fishing too. I am truly a blessed man and my wife and I will be forever grateful to my donor, Chad Jones, and his parents, Michael and Sheree, and their daughter, Jessica."