What It Feels Like to Hold a Human Heart

One of the most common questions people ask me is, “What is it like to hold a human heart in your hand?”

Well, I’ll tell you, even after nearly 9,000 heart operations, it’s a feeling that never gets old.

Every time I hold a heart in my hand, I am reminded that I am holding something extraordinary.

It’s a relatively small organ. It’s no bigger than a fist, but it’s been beating every second of a person’s life.

It has carried them through childhood, through love, through loss, through every joy and every challenge they have ever faced. It’s truly awe-inspiring. In many ways, it’s almost spiritual.

In fact, people are sometimes surprised when I tell them that I feel closest to God when I’m in the operating room.

They’ll say, “But wait, you studied science. You’re a scientist. How can you believe in God?”

And my answer is always the same: It’s because I’m a scientist.

It’s because I study science that I believe in God.

You see, the more I learn about the human body, the more I study the heart, the more I understand its complexity, its beauty, and its precision, the harder it becomes for me to believe that all of this happened by chance alone.

Every blood vessel has a purpose. Every valve opens and closes with remarkable timing. Every heartbeat sustains a life, a family, and a story.

Standing there in that operating room, surrounded by an incredible team and trusted with another human being’s life, I am constantly reminded of how precious and miraculous life truly is.

Medicine teaches us the science of the heart, but sometimes holding a heart in your hand teaches you something even greater.

It teaches you humility, wonder, gratitude, and a profound appreciation for the gift of life.