On Oct. 1, 2018, four-time Super Bowl champion Matt Millen was admitted into the intensive care unit at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey, one of the nation’s best hospitals for heart transplants.
The rare disease AL Amyloidosis severely damaged Millen’s heart, forcing him to remain in the hospital until he received a transplant. E:60 was with Millen every step of the way.
“All Heart,” the story of Millen’s heart transplant produced by Pia Malbran and reported by Jeremy Schaap, airs Sunday at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN.
“As the producer, I was on standby every day waiting to get a call that a donor heart had been identified for Matt. I had to be ready for it to happen at any moment,” said Malbran. “On December 23, shortly before 5 p.m., the hospital sent me a message that the transplant was happening that evening.”
It was at that moment, on the night before Christmas Eve, that Malbran and the crew stopped what they were doing to get to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
“Our E:60 production manager Megan Anderson contacted cameraman Mike Bollacke, who lives about two hours outside Newark. I then met Mike, his audio tech Dan Walter and camera assistant/media manager Brian Murphy at the hospital around 8 p.m.,” said Malbran. “Upon arriving, we began filming everything Matt and the hospital staff felt comfortable with. We had to stay out of the way, in order not to interfere with anything that was happening, while still being present.”
Malbran captured incredible raw moments.
“At around 2:30 a.m., we were told Matt’s surgeon, Dr. Margarita Camacho, was arriving with the donor heart. We waited for her at the entrance of the hospital, with our camera rolling,” Malbran said. “We filmed her wheeling in the donor heart. Matt’s surgery ended at 5:25 a.m. on December 24. The experience was incredibly moving and a great honor.”
Throughout their time spent with Millen, he made them laugh often and reflect more deeply about life.
“Matt had, and still has, a big heart, literally and figuratively,” Malbran said.
https://twitter.com/LaurenEdwardsTV/status/1100986744294567936
Great read!! @chibbs_1 Keep pushing and pouring into these young men. https://t.co/ZufzGwElas
— Aisha (@5blessing) February 26, 2019
A HUGE congratulations to Alum Jackie MacMullan '82, who last night became the FIRST ever female recipient of the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing! Read more about Jackie's incredible work and her award ⬇️⬇️⬇️https://t.co/nS1JrXiGEF pic.twitter.com/44wFzYjkpy
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Love seeing Sister Jean front and center on ESPN’s homepage. She’s magical. @RamblersMBB https://t.co/950PcK5UmG
— Stephen S Coyle (@stephenscoyle) February 27, 2019
ESPN's @JeffDarlington continues his string of big NFL interviews w/ an #SCFeatured debuting Saturday morning on #Steelers WR Antonio Brown. A preview: https://t.co/AreBq70zkR pic.twitter.com/DVZ4FeSToQ
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) March 1, 2019
– Molly Mita
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College GameDay covered by State Farm heads to Texas for its very first appearance at the University of Houston on Saturday, March 2 (11 a.m. ET, ESPN). Houston has the best record in the country at 26-1 with 33 straight home wins.
