My name is James Nerlinger. For 22 years I managed congestive heart failure through diet, discipline, and sheer stubbornness. In the fall of 2024, that stopped being enough.
I arrived at the hospital unable to walk more than ten feet on my own, one leg swollen to twice its size, my ejection fraction at 5%. That number, for context, means the heart was functioning at a small fraction of what it should. The doctors stabilized me with an Impella device and began evaluating me for a heart transplant — something I never expected to be considered for, given my age, my weight, and my diabetes.
On November 9th, 2024, I received a donor heart. The surgeon called it a good heart. He was right.
This blog is the story of what led to that moment, what happened in the OR, and what life looks like on the other side of it — the recovery, the complications, the medications, the second chances, and the moments along the way that changed how I understand what it means to be alive.
I am not a religious man. But I have been visited by things I cannot explain and offered exits I chose not to take. More than once. What I can say with certainty is this: there is something more than what we see on this mortal plane, and I intend to spend whatever time I have left figuring out how to live well within it.
One more beat. And then one more after that.
More of My Work
One More Beat is one of several projects I write and build. If you want to know more about who I am beyond this story:
- Infobin.com — General bio, background, and a full picture of what I do
- Deep Dark Abyss Productions — Independent iOS and macOS software. No ads, no subscriptions, no nonsense.
- Rooted Hearth — Writing about real food, practical living, and the quiet work of keeping a home in order
- Many Lamps, One Flame — Interfaith writing exploring Torah, Gospel, Kabbalah, and contemplative traditions