AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Just before a major heart surgery at Piedmont Augusta, Akira Joy Hendricks had one urgent request.
She wanted to be baptized.
Hendricks, who was in advanced heart failure, was preparing to receive a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD — a mechanical pump used when the heart can no longer do enough work on its own. After the device is implanted, patients can no longer be fully submerged in water, making the baptism time-sensitive…