JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Naishanda Larramore misses her husband, Leonard Larramore, deeply. The former NFL player and Jacksonville native died in April while waiting for a heart.
Leonard Larramore, who used to play for the Buffalo Bills, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2009 and has been waiting for a transplant since. He never saw a heart, but rather an artificial heart powered by batteries. He died April 25 from an infection.
“I miss him terribly,” Naishanda Larramore said.
Despite being gone, she said she is carrying on his mission.
“Get more people to become donors, organ donors that is still my mission,” she said.
She says although she never lost faith the right heart would come along, she wasn’t prepared to say goodbye.
“He grabbed me and he said, 'I love you, and you’re beautiful,' and then they were going to take him to get another exam done, or a scan done, and that’s the last time I talked to him," she said.
Leonard Larramore died one day after his birthday. She said he had a message to young athletes:
“There’s a better way for you to eat, so you can be healthy and to also a lot of them do weights but if the weights are too heavy it’s not good for your heart,” she said.
Although he left a big heart to fill, she said it’s not about the destination sometimes, but the journey together.
“I learned a whole lot about faith and trusting in God from my husband,” she said.
If you want to learn more about the former NFL player and how to become an organ donor, click here.