Stan Fischler: My Son Needs A New Heart - - And We Need Help!

Please let us know if there is any way you can help.

Stefen Rosner

The Elmonters

, and

David Kolb

Jun 23, 2025

In 1993, my then 14-year-old younger son, Simon Fischler, received a heart transplant at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital that saved his young life.

It is now 32 years later, and Simon once again is in need of a new heart. The difference is that Simon now lives in Israel and is in Bellenson Hospital.

The news about his vital need for a new heart was revealed this (June 23, Monday) morning when he was given a follow-up angiogram following a near-fatal pneumonia attack a couple of weeks earlier.

Simon -- a devoted, lifetime Islanders fan -- happened to be in the hospital shelter because a threatened attack from Iran had been signalled.

Following the "All Clear," the angiogram revealed his critical condition.

Simon is listed for a transplant and needs one as soon as possible. The doctors are unsure if it will be possible to get a new heart here in Israel at this time in the war.

The doctors say NY Presbyterian might be the source of a new heart as well.

As Simon's father and a longtime Islanders reporter, I am reaching out not only for prayers, but also for some advice to help speed the delivery of a new heart.

Thanks to David Kolb and Stefen Rosner for allowing me room to make this heartfelt request.

Sincerely,

Stan Fischler