Morgantown WV Radio: Good Wishes For WVAQ's Lacy Neff

Lacy Neff

When WVAQ 101.9 FM personality Lacy Neff arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital nine months ago with a heart resembling shattered glass, a trail of baffled doctors behind him and, by some estimates, a matter of weeks to live.

The Boston Herald reports Neff had been diagnosed with amyloidosis — a rare disease that creates a buildup of proteins which interfere with the function of vital organs. In Neff’s case, his heart was under attack.

It’s a “sneaky little disease,” Neff said, with indistinct symptoms like dizziness and shortness of breath, which can turn the diagnostic process into a drawn-out guessing game.

Some cases of the disease have a genetic component, while others — like Neff’s — appear to strike at random.

Neff had bounced around hospitals spanning three states. Eventually, he learned that he was not just battling heart failure, but also multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells present in bone marrow. Neff needed a stem cell transplant — but first, he needed a new heart.

Neff spent nearly four months waiting for a heart before getting a transplant on April 28, what he calls his “second birthday.”

“There’s nothing like hearing ‘We have a heart ready for you,’” Neff said.

Doctors will be performing the stem cell transplant in a few weeks, he said.