Former NBA champion Scot Pollard—who fans might also remember from Survivor—found himself in a fight he never saw coming. Back in 2021, Pollard found out he had cardiomyopathy, a dangerous genetic heart disease. Things spiraled fast. By early 2024, he’d received a heart transplant and got to thank the donor’s family personally. But behind the scenes, things weren’t always so hopeful. In fact, there was a point when Pollard nearly gave up entirely.
But it all started with a long, uncertain wait. Doctors kept turning him down, not because they didn’t want to help, but because finding a heart strong enough for a 6-foot-11 man was nearly impossible. That fear wasn’t just emotional—it was physical, deeply rooted in the reality of his size and situation. Eventually, a match came.
Donor Casey Angell, who tragically passed away at age 45, became the reason Pollard is still here. But not before a breaking point. On the Real Estate Makes Us Drink podcast, Pollard admitted how overwhelming the donor process had become. After back-to-back appointments that stretched over two days, he hit a wall. “I quit,” he admitted bluntly.
Moreover, he didn’t sugarcoat how low he got. “I have never quit anything in my life. And I woke up that morning and I told my wife, I don’t want to get, I don’t want to get out of bed, I don’t want to do this, I was done,” he recalled. “I had done all the drugs, I’d done the ablations. I’d done the procedures. And I was just like, I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m so tired. I can’t think straight.”
Then came the moment everything changed. Weak, unable to talk, Pollard was ready to surrender. “I can’t talk. Just let’s let God take me,” he said. But his wife refused to let him go. “And she said, she said, shut your a–,” he shared. “I’m going to go get a wheelchair.” And just like that, the fight was back on. Days later, the NBA champ got his second chance at life.
Scot Pollard Meets the Heart Behind His Second Chance
So, once he pulled through the surgery, Scot Pollard didn’t wait long to act on something even bigger than survival: gratitude. He grabbed a pen and poured everything into a handwritten letter. “My name is Scot,” he wrote, “and I’m writing this letter to express mine and my family’s unending appreciation.” For him, this wasn’t just about saying thank you—it was about honoring the life that made his second chance possible.
And so, the letter turned into a mission. “We want to let you know that your loved one’s heart is going to be loved and cared for,” he promised. More than that, he pledged to raise awareness. “I’ve already connected with multiple donor networks,” he added, proving this was only the beginning of giving back.
The letter’s closing words deepened that emotion. “Your loved one is our hero, and he will live on forever through me and our efforts of getting more people to be selfless heroes like him. He truly is my hero.”
Three months later, when he had nearly given up on hearing back, Pamela—his donor’s wife—responded with a simple but powerful message that introduced him to Casey Angell.
Then came the moment that tied it all together. On March 17, 2025, Pollard met Pamela, her 12-year-old son William, and Casey’s sister Megan. They laughed, cried, and even placed a stethoscope on his chest to hear Casey’s heart beating once again. For everyone there, it wasn’t just healing—it was rebirth.
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