Jackie & Mac Gohagan

February 2025 Issue

by Edwina Hoyle
Photography by Lindsay Gifford

Sixteen-year-old Mac Gohagan came home from football practice last May (2024) and told his mother, Jackie, “Boy, I’m out of shape. I can hardly keep going.” Jackie said the next day he felt sick, he had a fever of 102°, he was throwing up and holding his upper stomach, lying on the floor in pain. She noticed his eyes were yellow and thought it might be his gall bladder. She took her son to the emergency room and was told it was probably a virus.

They followed up with Mac’s pediatrician who sent them to MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) because his chest x-ray showed an enlarged heart. Mac was admitted, and Jackie, who is a registered nurse, insisted on an echocardiogram. His lab work worsened the next day, and the cardiologist broke the news that Mac was in heart failure and needed to be admitted to the cardiac ICU.

“I grabbed the doctor’s arm and asked, ‘Are you a Christian?’ He said yes and prayed with us,” Jackie said. In Mac’s room there was an ECMO, a device that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs. “I knew that machine was used as a last resort during Covid, and when I saw that machine, I realized this is serious,” she added.

In a small waiting room next door to Mac’s room about 20 people and a Baptist minister placed their hands on the adjoining wall and prayed. Mac’s liver was starting to shut down because his heart wasn’t pumping enough blood to the liver. The doctor started to explain the ejection fraction: the percentage of blood leaving the heart each time it squeezes or contracts. “I didn’t want to know that number,” Jackie said. “My father had an ejection fraction of 15 percent. When they took him off life support, he passed quickly. Everything evolved around that number, and if I knew it, I would lose all hope.” She eventually learned the number:
11 percent, which is considered fatal.

“The chaplain just appeared. He was very comforting and had a lot of medical knowledge,” Jackie said. “I told him I just wanted to touch the hem of God’s garment and ask Him to heal Mac. The chaplain told me God is all around you. You just can’t see it.”

Mac’s diagnosis is Becker Muscular Dystrophy, which involves serious cardiac problems. Jackie explained it is genetic, and she is the carrier. The doctor wasn’t optimistic about Mac’s heart recovery. He needed a transplant to survive.

Jackie had met other families whose children desperately waited for a heart. She learned that it’s harder to get a heart for a small child due to the size of their hearts. One girl had been waiting seven months, and a 7-year-old boy for a year. Jackie wondered if she would be at the hospital for the next 365 days.

Jackie said her husband, Nick, had a really hard time because he likes to be in control, and there was no way to control anything. “Nick told me he was grateful for my faith and that it was stronger than his. I told him I knew there would be a miracle for our son. Don’t know when. Don’t know how. It was in God’s time. And as soon as I gave it to God, it was like a fast-forward button was pushed.”

Mac had an LVAD (left ventricular assistance device) implanted, which is basically a battery-operated heart that would keep her son alive. “Once Mac got the LVAD, the medical team began the process of qualifying him for a transplant and getting on the waiting list,” Jackie explained. There were so many blood work ups and qualifying tests it took two weeks. “Once he was on the list, he got a heart in three days!”

“Mac stayed positive and upbeat through it all,” Jackie said. “After the doctor explained the whole process, Mac’s questions were: ‘How much schooling do you have, and how are you going to keep me alive while I don’t have a heart?’”

Mac said, “I was nervous at first. It was hard to believe. Once I accepted it, I just wanted it to be over and get out of the hospital.”

It was 45 days from entering the ICU to a successful transplant. Seven weeks after surgery, on Labor Day, Mac was in pain and throwing up. The doctor said it might be a sign of rejection. Jackie said to Mac, “Wait a minute. Show me exactly where it hurts. I think it’s your appendix. Another blessing is that he didn’t have appendicitis before his transplant.”

In November, Mac contracted mono. In December, he had the flu. “He recovered and bounced back,” she said. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. When should I worry? I am a nurse. How did I miss this? I beat myself up. The doctor explained that Mac has been this way his whole life, that tired is normal, so I didn’t know. And kids are resilient.”

“While I sat in the hospital, I got sheets of paper and wrote down every single blessing. Nick retired last April, a month before Mac went to the hospital. So he was available to be in Charleston with Mac. My mother also retired at the end of last June, so she was able to come as needed. My son, Tison, who is 21, had to grow up very fast. I was glad he was close to home to tend to the house and dog. An acquaintance let us stay in their condo for a month. The staff was like family, there for me on my lowest days and best days. Plus, all the amazing people we would have never met.”

“I am so very, very grateful for the organ donor. How do you thank someone who gave the gift of life?” Jackie pondered. “On the day of the transplant, we had a good day, and somebody else was mourning. Every day I pray for that family. I was told that survivor’s guilt is the devil trying to steal your joy. The doctor told me ‘I didn’t pull the trigger. It was part of God’s plan. He put your son’s name on that heart.’”

“The whole time, I was going through the motions and adrenaline was rushing, just staying alive. Now, six months later, we are trying to get back to a normal life.” Mac is a junior in high school. Through the Outdoor Foundation in Anderson, he gets to go going duck hunting and meet other people who have medical issues like his. He’s also back to deer hunting and fishing. Unfortunately, he will never play football again, but his last game was a victorious state championship!

“Lots of people were praying for Mac. He brought this community together. It was just crazy—all the support, love, and prayers we got from people we didn’t even know,” Jackie said. “Two hundred people attended a prayer service. My co-workers held a BBQ chicken fundraiser. The ladies in my Bible study had a prayer list and every 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. somebody was praying for Mac.”

“There were lots of God winks and angels through it all. I couldn’t see it at the moment, but in hindsight it’s perfect.”