LAVALE — Seth Wharton was 13 years old when he awoke after open-heart surgery and asked his parents if he’d be able to play football.
Because he was born with a serious heart problem, doctors said he should avoid sports, which meant football was off the table.
“That was my dream,” Wharton said. “I never got to play.”
Years passed as he watched friends don their football jerseys.
“I never had that,” Wharton said. “Until now.”
Abbott HeartMates team
Wharton holds a Guinness World Record for the longest survivor of an artificial double heart valve replacement.
“I have two Abbott heart valves,” he said.
Last week, Wharton was in New York City for Abbott’s HeartMates Draft Day.
The event recognized Wharton and 10 other people who recovered from serious cardiovascular conditions and made them official members of the Abbott HeartMates team.
It was hosted by Abbott, professional football player and heart health advocate Damar Hamlin and three-time Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi.
According to an Abbott press release, Bruschi in 2005 experienced a stroke caused by a hole in his heart.
“After receiving an Abbott Amplatzer device, he was able to rejoin his team just months later and was named the 2005 Comeback Player of the Year,” the release stated.
“Anyone can be impacted by a heart condition,” Bruschi said via the release. “That’s why it is so important to not only raise awareness about the signs and symptoms of heart disease, stroke and other ailments, but also share diverse stories of survivor comeback journeys.”
Hamlin experienced a cardiac event during a game in 2023.
“Today I am inspired by the amazing bravery and resilience of each of the Abbott HeartMates and hope they feel just as I did on the day I was drafted,” he said via the release.
According to Abbott, the HeartMates program “celebrates the bravery in those with cardiovascular conditions, the teams of families, friends and caregivers who support them, and the heroes providing the medical care needed to help people make their comeback.”
That creates a community where “members can share stories, connect with others going through similar heart-health journeys and receive emotional support, Abbott and program ambassador Damar Hamlin hope to inspire people and ensure that no one faces these health challenges alone,” the company stated.
‘Feels life changing’
Wharton got teary when he described the HeartMates event.
“I finally got my jersey,” he said.
“God had a bigger plan,” Wharton said. “It’s a more important team that I’ve been reserved for.”
The program “will help so many people,” Wharton said of sharing the message that “you can go on and live life and do so many things that you want to do.”
He’s proof of that.
Wharton went on to play college basketball, win weightlifting meets, run 5Ks and more.
Today at age 46, the LaVale resident is father of children ages 21, 19, 17, and 14, and serves as hospice chaplain at UPMC Western Maryland.
“I’m thankful to Abbott for doing this,” Wharton said of the HeartMates program. “It’s such an honor.”
At the draft, he thanked his parents Benay and Robert Wharton for their support throughout his life.
Several years ago, Benay Wharton authored “Our Heart’s Desire Is Our Littlest Miracle,” which began as a prayer list and evolved into “a testimony” of her son overcoming odds and doctors’ predictions.
Seth Wharton’s wife Kendra accompanied him to the Big Apple where she watched the HeartMates team ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange.
“It really was just amazing,” she said.
“It feels life changing,” Kendra Wharton said. “We just thank the lord for it.”