Father's Day 2010

Nothing is more important to Dean Holmberg than his family, especially his seven grandchildren.

• Photos

But the Staples man, called "Papa" by his grandchildren, shares a special bond with his youngest grandson, Alex Paysse - or his "chunky monkey," as he calls the 1 1/2-year-old Baxter boy.

Dean Holmberg of Staples held his 1 and 1/2-year-old grandson, Alex Paysse of Baxter, Tuesday in Brainerd. Holmberg learned he was placed on the heart transplant list the day he found out his daughter, Shannon was pregnant, and he received his new heart 12 hours before Alex was born. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey

On May 20, 2009, Dean and his wife, Joan, learned their daughter, Shannon Paysse, was pregnant with her and her husband Nelson's third child. That same day they got a call that Dean was being placed on a waiting list for a new heart.

And for a 27-hour period on Jan. 10-11, 2009, both Dean's and Alex's lives hung in the balance as Dean underwent that heart transplant and Alex was born during an emergency Cesarean section, following a complicated labor and delivery. Alex was born 12 hours after Dean's new heart was implanted into his body.

"On those days, we experienced the gift of life twice," said Joan. "The gift of life from a donor and for Alex."

When Dean married Joan on Nov. 21, 1980, he not only got a wife but a daughter, Shannon, then 2 1/2, and son, David, then 1 1/2. He adopted them soon afterward.

"I wasn't just marrying her, I was marrying her family," said Dean, who was 30 at the time. "I felt I was ready."

"It was never even a question, from the moment we got married, he was Dad," said Joan.

Within the year, they became a family of five when their son, James, was born.

In 2002, Dean's brother died of a sudden heart attack so Dean decided he'd better see a doctor. It was discovered that Dean's heart was in poor shape, the heart was malformed and had several blockages. He was a heart attack waiting to happen. He had stents placed in his heart that year and underwent a heart bypass in 2003. As his heart condition worsened, he had two pacemakers implanted and needed medication pumped through a PICC line. He was hospitalized many times.

When Shannon told her parents she was pregnant, she told her dad that he needed to hang on and fight, so he could meet his new grandchild.

"I'm not afraid to die, but my desire is to live long enough for my grandchildren to remember me," said Dean.

By Christmas of 2009, the family was convinced it would be Dean's last. Dean himself was at peace with that.

"I thought I'd already lived my life," said Dean. "I figured I'd done everything I wanted to do."

At 2 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2009, Dean got a call that a heart was found for him. The donor was a young man.

Dean and Joan immediately began to drive from their home in Staples to Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where the heart transplant was to take place. They both knew what each other were thinking about - the family that had just lost their son.

They both cried.

Since Shannon wasn't feeling well, she didn't drive down to Abbott for her father's heart transplant.

At 2 p.m., when Dean's new heart was being placed in his chest, Shannon was being checked in at St. Joseph's Medical Center, where she works as a recovery nurse. Tests revealed her placenta was dying and her baby was essentially starving.

"It was horrible, absolutely horrible," said Joan, who along with Dean had been in the waiting room for every one of their grandchildren's births, until now. "Shannon was bawling and wasn't sure if Alex was going to live. Dean didn't fight so hard to be here with Alex to lose Alex."

"I felt out of control. I couldn't

be there with my daughter and I knew I needed to be with Dean. It was the most stressful 27 hours of my life," said Joan.

When Dean got out of the two and-a-half-hour surgery and was able to speak, he asked his wife about Shannon and Alex. After he heard the news, he immediately began to pray for his grandson.

Twelve hours after Dean's transplant, at 1:52 p.m. Jan. 11, 2009, Alex was born via emergency C-section. He was a healthy 7-pound baby, despite his ordeal.

Dean's transplant went well and he hasn't had any problems with organ rejection, but he suffers from kidney problems because of his deteriorating heart condition before the surgery. He and his wife, who drives bus for the Staples-Motley School District, spend a lot of time with their grandchildren, who all live within a 30-mile radius.

Dean enjoys taking his grandchildren, ages 1-1/2 to 8 years, four-wheeling and camping. He babysits often but has only one rule - he won't change diapers. He figures he's only changed one diaper in his life - on his son James.

"I won't change diapers. I'll take care of them but I won't change diapers," Dean said with a laugh.

In January, the entire family celebrated Dean's first anniversary of his "re-birth" and Alex's first birthday in a Maple Grove motel.

"Family is the most important thing," Dean explained. "I pray every night for my wife, my kids and grandkids."

Dean said he thinks of his heart donor and his family every day. He and his wife wrote a letter to his family on the first anniversary of his heart transplant and have not heard back from them.

They hope someday they do.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.