From days to live to a new heartbeat and purpose
JP Cavalieri was days from death, when a donor's heart saved his life and gave him new purpose.
When John Paul (JP) Cavalieri entered the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in 2022, doctors gave him devastating news: without a new heart, he was just days away from death. Remarkably, within a week, he was standing at the altar at his wedding. But the road to hearing a steady, healthy heartbeat again would push him to the edge of life itself.
A shocking diagnosis
Three years earlier, Cavalieri suffered an electrical shock while working on a scaffolding. Unknown to him at the time, the accident permanently weakened his heart. What began as routine advice to see a local cardiologist, soon became a rollercoaster of life-or-death decisions.
Over time, he began to feel unusually fatigued. His abdomen swelled. His family noticed changes and urged him to seek care. Multiple hospital visits and an echocardiogram eventually revealed a stark reality: Cavalieri’s ejection fraction—the measure of how much blood the heart pumps out with each beat—was only 5 to 10 percent. A normal range is 50–70 percent.
His heart was essentially failing.
Local doctors were able to stabilize him, but the truth was unavoidable: Cavalieri would eventually need a heart transplant. He began seeing a cardiologist for close monitoring, but also researched hospitals where he could be evaluated for transplant. HUP quickly rose to the top of his list.
Cavalieri recalled how the team embraced him like family. They explained how he could manage his heart failure, but also made it clear it was only a matter of time before he would need a new heart.
Near the end...and a new beginning
In late 2021, Cavalieri began transplant evaluations at HUP. By mid-2022, his condition worsened dramatically.
“It felt like when I got my original diagnosis,” Cavalieri said. “My stomach was all distended and my face was all red.”
That’s when doctors told him he was just days away from losing his life.
Even then, Cavalieri insisted on one thing: attending his wedding. “For all I care, they could have wheeled me in a wheelchair. I wasn’t going to miss it,” he said.
Thanks to intensive treatment, he was stable enough to marry his wife at a backyard ceremony surrounded by 150 guests. It was a celebration of love, life, and hope. But within weeks, his health declined further. All medications had failed. He needed a heart immediately.
To keep him alive, Stuart Prenner, MD, placed Cavalieri on a ventricular assist device (VAD), and when that failed, on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Two days later, a heart became available.
A heartfelt gift
Cavalieri’s donor was Jack Sinnott, whose gift of life arrived just in time.
On the day of surgery, Cavalieri remembers being wheeled into the operating room as his favorite song—“Oceans” by Hillsong UNITED—played in the background.
“I could not believe that they remembered that about me, I didn’t even ask them,” said Cavalieri. “The attention to detail in every interaction, from the person who came in and emptied the trash to my heart surgeon, Dr. Marisa Cevasco, has been incredible.”
When Cavalieri woke up from surgery, the first thing he wanted to do was listen to his new heartbeat. He recorded the moment and shared it online, where it quickly went viral. Eleven days later, he spotted Dr. Cevasco in the hallway and rushed over to thank her.
“JP was very sick,” Cevasco said. “We were lucky to get him a heart when we did. He nearly died waiting.”
Inspiring others
Cavalieri’s story didn’t end with his transplant. While recovering at HUP, he began livestreaming his journey on TikTok, using his platform to inspire others facing health challenges.
Today, he continues that mission in person. After his follow-up appointments, he often visits other patients, like now friend Eric, who was awaiting both a heart and kidney transplant. Nurses on the cardiac floor frequently invite Cavalieri to speak with patients approaching critical stages of heart failure, knowing his story offers hope when they need it most.
“I know what it feels like to be told you have days to live,” Cavalieri said. “If my experience can give someone else strength, then that’s what I’m here for.”
To honor Jack and his family, Cavalieri created The Jack Sinnott Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about organ donation, supporting transplant recipients, and promoting heart-healthy living.
Living with purpose
Cavalieri continues to celebrate his second chance at life. On the first anniversary of his transplant, he climbed the famous “Rocky Steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For his second, he joined Jack’s family at the Dash for Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness, running in honor of the donor who saved his life.
“I’m forever grateful to Jack and his family,” Cavalieri said. “His gift gave me life—and a purpose.”