Giving

Georgia and Bob Roth: “We feel blessed.”

Robert (Bob) Roth never imagined he would someday need a heart transplant to save his life—especially after undergoing successful quadruple bypass surgery in 2003 and adhering to a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Despite those efforts, his heart condition worsened. And in 2008, under the care of Jon Kobashigawa, MD, Bob, president of World Oil, received a new heart.

Unfortunately, Bob’s own failing heart had damaged his kidneys. “Dialysis was harder than the heart transplant,” he recalls. After another transplant surgery, Bob was finally back on the road to good health. “This was a journey filled with anxiety and challenge, from the wait for a donor heart through the kidney transplant and long-term recovery,” Georgia says.

Bob’s ongoing cardiac care is managed by Dr. Kobashigawa and his expert team in Cedars-Sinai’s Advanced Heart Disease Center.

Bob lauds the personal touch of its physicians and staff. “Whether it’s providing detailed information or moral support, they’ve been there for us at every step,” he says. “We are grateful to Dr. Kobashigawa and his team, and want to do what we can to help other patients and their families facing similar challenges,” Georgia says.

In 2011, the couple made a gift through the Robert S. Roth and Georgia L. Roth Family Foundation to support the Heart Institute and name the Advanced Heart Disease Center Lobby in the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion at Cedars-Sinai.

The Roths are delighted to support the Heart Institute’s bold research and outreach programs. Bob hopes their gift may help make heart transplants more accessible. “If we play even a small part in that,” he says, “it will be a big reward.”

Now the Roths are traveling again and enjoying life. “We feel blessed,” says Georgia. With his new heart beating strong, her husband agrees.

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