Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes ofwebsite accessibility
Weather Alert
Heavy rain at times this afternoon
Show Less
Close Alert

Community rallies behind Tiverton football coach who underwent heart transplant


William 'Chip' McGrady was a long-time Tiverton High football coach who recently underwent a heart transplant. (WJAR)
William 'Chip' McGrady was a long-time Tiverton High football coach who recently underwent a heart transplant. (WJAR)
Facebook Share IconTwitter Share IconEmail Share Icon

A long-time Tiverton High School football coach recently underwent a heart transplant and the community continues to rally around him.

William 'Chip' McGrady, 62, was diagnosed several years ago with Ventricular tachycardia, a heart condition.

According to his daughter, 28-year-old Megan McGrady, in 2010, after multiple visits to the emergency room, his cardiologist recommended that he receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or an ICD.

The purpose of the ICD is to continuously monitor his heart.

“The Ventricular tachycardia is when your heart races uncontrollably and it won’t stop until it’s shocked back into rhythm," said Megan. “He had an implantable ICD, which is called a defibrillator, similar to a pacemaker, that would deliver an electric shock throughout his body to help with his issue. On September 18th of 2022 the ICD went off twice delivering an internal shock to his body so he walked into the Fall River Charlton Memorial Hospital and the device went off on him eight more times. It feels similar to that of a mule kicking you in the chest every time it goes off."

Megan said after that incident he spent almost every day in the hospital until he was sent to a rehabilitation facility.

The McGrady family was ecstatic when he was able to come home at Christmas time, but nearly two weeks after his release, what he thought was a normal checkup kept him in the hospital.

“Things just took a turn for the worse. He got really sick; it was something that became so uncontrollable they had to intubate him. He had at least five surgeries since September and they had to figure a way to keep him stable. They knew the end goal was a heart transplant," said Megan.

Since then, every day, Megan or her sister, Emily, make the trip to Brigham and Women's Hospital.

“I’ve just wanted to do absolutely everything I can to help him through this tough time," she said. “At one point they told me your dad might not make it. It’s been tough. When they told me I could potentially lose my dad my whole world just flipped upside down, it was a really hard thing to deal with."

Since doctors recognized the need for a new heart, William was bumped up on the transplant list in January.

Megan said when word spread about her dad's deteriorating health condition, support started pouring in.

“Everybody that knows my dad knows that he’s kind of a ray of sunshine. Everybody loves him. He’s a big sports guy, a big family guy. Loves his kids and loves his friends. He’s one of the first people to help other people out so the right thing to do was to help him out," she said.

McGrady coached football at Tiverton High School for decades.

Before going into the hospital full-time, he had been coaching the semi-pro football team in Fall River and working as a building commissioner in North Attleboro.

“He’s done so much for the community that people care and people don’t forget that. People don’t forget when somebody else has helped them and they know it’s their turn to step up," said Megan.

And step up, they did.

In October, Megan came to the realization that her dad would most likely be in over his head when it came to his bills.

“Life doesn’t stop when you get sick. The bills still come in so we knew we had to do something in order to help him pay his rent and everything else," she said. 'So I made a GoFundMe, it blew up. Within a couple of hours people were already making donations. Friends, family, kids he’s coached that now have their own lives. Everybody has really stepped up to the plate. Not only people in his life, but people in my life."

Nearly $25,000 was raised through her fundraising efforts.

“Everybody knows him as this big strong guy. He’s 6-foot-2 and just does everything for himself so having to depend on other people I’m sure was a really hard thing for him," she said.

On February 3rd, McGrady had heart transplant surgery.

"He is still in the hospital and he has a long road to recovery," said Megan. “His life has forever changed so whatever we could do to help him. People have been so amazing. Every day my phone is going off with, 'What can I do to help?”'

Since many continue to ask, and since financially there's a lot to be done, Megan and her boyfriend, Kevin Verissmo, are hosting a medical fundraiser at Shorty's Pub in Fall River on March 5th.

Megan works the bar and Kevin's family owns it.

"My dad loves this place, he would always come to visit," she said.

“This is the right place to do it," added Verissmo.

From 1 p.m. until 8 p.m., they'll host a fundraiser for William.

“Tickets are $25 a piece, obviously a donation for Megan’s dad," said Verissmo. “Every Sunday we do something here called 'Acoustic Sundays' and the entertainers that we had we didn’t even have to ask they just volunteered their time for this fundraiser.

Entry includes a spaghetti dinner and live music. Tickets can be purchased in person, ahead of time or at the restaurant.

“We’ve already gotten a ton of local raffle donations from local businesses, it's amazing," said Verissmo. “We’ve done multiple fundraisers for multiple organizations and the amazing thing is we don’t even have to ask. The community we’ve built here, we don’t even have to ask. It’s mind blowing."

A link to event details can be found here

The GoFundMe is still live.

“As soon as I met him I knew he would do anything for anyone, no question about it," said Verissmo. “I hope this helps him obviously. Not only money wise, but just a great feeling that he knows that he’s got support”

"It means the world," added Megan. "My dad truly appreciates all of it and so do we."

Loading ...