Pitching in: Chance encounter leads to heart transplant – and money raised for UHN
Rita Spitieri, a heart transplant recipient, shares her journey from misdiagnosis to successful surgery. After years of struggling with her health, a chance encounter on a flight led her to the right medical help. Now, she advocates for organ donation and participates in fundraising events for the University Health Network.
- ▪Rita Spitieri was misdiagnosed for years before discovering she had a serious heart condition.
- ▪She underwent a heart transplant in September 2022 after a year-long wait for a donor organ.
- ▪Spitieri is now involved in advocacy for organ donation and has raised over $3,300 for the UHN Foundation.
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Open this photo in gallery:Heart transplant recipients Katherine Baines, left, and Rita Spitieri, participate in the We Walk UHNITED in Toronto on May 31, 2025, to raise money for UHN Foundation.SuppliedShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountThe organizer: Rita SpitieriThe pitch: Raising $3,000 and climbing The cause: Toronto’s University Health NetworkRita Spitieri was working as a flight attendant on an overnight flight from Los Angeles in 2009 when she struck up a conversation with a passenger that led her to finally understand what was wrong with her heart. Ms. Spitieri had been suffering from weakness on her left side while exercising and often found herself out of breath even though she was in good shape.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Globe and Mail.
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