After his Alaska Airlines flight was postponed due to the record U.S. winter storm, an Alaskan parent missed a life-saving opportunity to receive a replacement heart. The University of Washington Medical Center notified Patrick Holland, who is suffering congestive heart failure,

on December 22 that he was the next in line for a heart transplant. The 56-year-old had an 8-hour window to leave for Seattle for the heart transplant, so she hurried to the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska for a night flight. But when he arrived to the airport,

he learned that the weather had forced the cancellation of his trip. The following aircraft had to be redirected despite the efforts of Alaska Airlines workers to get him on board. Holland would have missed the 8-hour window and the heart would have been donated to someone else,

which was unfortunate. Holland talked to King 5 and said, “That day, I believe I shed more tears than I ever have in my life and experienced every feeling I’ve never felt. I replied, “Thank God, there’s going to be a family rescuing someone’s dad, saving someone’s brother, saving someone’s,

saving someone’s, you know,” to snap out of that rut.” In the hopes that a new heart will become available, Holland says he will stay in Seattle for a while. This will allow him to continue supporting his wife of 17 years and his seven children.

Holland was still able to see the bright side of things. I instantly said, “Thank God, there will be a family that saves someone’s dad, saves someone’s brother, saves someone’s, saves someone’s uncle,” to get out of that rut. cited by Holland via King 5.Winter Storm Elliott is responsible for at least 62 fatalities, including 37 in Erie County, New York, and 25 in 11 other U.S. States. On December 26, President Joe Biden authorized the declaration of an emergency in New York. During 1 million people lost power,

dozens of flights were cancelled, and citizens were stranded inside their homes without food over the holiday weekend due to the freezing temperatures and large snow drifts that impacted other cities across the country.