Viki's Heart — 2004
In 2004, Viki faced another life-threatening medical crisis when doctors discovered that she was suffering from serious heart disease. Her condition continued to deteriorate until she learned that without a heart transplant, she would die.
The diagnosis came during an already painful period in Viki's life. Her husband, Ben Davidson, had remained in a coma since being accidentally shot by Antonio Vega in 2002 while Antonio was attempting to rescue Viki from Allison Perkins. Although Viki had tried to move forward with her life, her love for Ben had never disappeared.
On Valentine's Day, Viki visited Ben and reminisced about the life they had shared. Unexpectedly, Ben awakened. For a brief and precious time, Viki had the man she loved back. Ben told her that he loved her, and the two shared memories before he slipped once again into his coma.
Soon afterward, Viki learned how seriously her own heart was failing. As her condition worsened, she was hospitalized and the search began for a compatible donor heart. One was eventually found, but the hope it offered was destroyed when the organ was contaminated as part of an illegal organ-trafficking scheme involving Llanview Hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Long.
Then Viki's fight for survival became inseparable from Ben's fate.
Ben suffered a brain hemorrhage, and doctors learned that his heart was a match for Viki. Ben's parents, Asa Buchanan and Renée Divine, went to his bedside, remembered their son and said goodbye. For Viki, however, the possibility of receiving Ben's heart presented an almost unbearable choice.
When Jessica told her what had happened, Viki realized that Ben was dead and lost consciousness. After awakening, she remembered their life together and struggled with what accepting his heart would mean. She could let go and join the husband she loved, or she could choose to continue living—knowing that Ben's heart would be beating inside her.
Viki was tortured by the decision. The transplant offered her a chance to survive, but she feared that Ben's heart would also become a constant reminder of everything she had lost. Ultimately, Viki heard Ben's reassuring voice and understood that accepting his heart was the right thing to do.
On May 27, Viki agreed to the transplant and was taken into surgery. As the operation began, she again heard Ben reassuring her that he would look after her. The following day, Dr. Larry Wolek told Viki's waiting family that she had survived the operation.
When Viki awakened, she could feel Ben's heart beating inside her.
The transplant saved Viki's life, but her survival came with profound loss. She had once again become a widow, while the heart that kept her alive created an extraordinary and permanent connection to the husband she had been forced to let go.
Erika and the Story
The heart-transplant storyline produced some of Erika Slezak's most acclaimed work. Two episodes associated with the story were submitted for Emmy consideration: the February episode in which Viki visited Ben and he briefly awakened, and the May episode centered on Ben's death and Viki's agonizing decision about whether to accept his heart.
In 2005, Erika won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for the sixth time. In her acceptance speech, she specifically thanked writers Michael Malone and Josh Griffith for writing the heart-transplant story.
One small detail in Viki’s recovery also came directly from real-life experience. Viewers noticed that Viki frequently carried a pillow after her surgery. Erika later explained that the idea came from a cameraman who had undergone open-heart surgery. He told her that patients were advised to hold a pillow tightly against their chest when coughing, laughing or exerting themselves, helping support the chest while the sternum healed. Erika incorporated the detail into Viki’s recovery and later heard from a viewer whose husband, six months after his own open-heart surgery, was still carrying his pillow. Erika also felt that although the transplant story was handled accurately, Viki recovered too quickly afterward and that such a serious operation should have required a longer recovery.
During an interview for the Television Academy Foundation, Erika was discussing One Life to Live stories that had been socially relevant and had generated responses from viewers. She remembered receiving a telephone call from the gentleman who had run her fan club since approximately a year after she joined the show.
He told Erika that he had been experiencing what he thought was indigestion. Remembering Viki's heart story made him think that what he was feeling might be more serious than he realized, and he decided to see a doctor.
He learned that he had suffered a heart attack.
Erika recalled being stunned, particularly because he had just turned 50. But she also realized that a story portrayed on One Life to Live had helped persuade someone to seek medical attention when he might otherwise have waited.
“Thank God we saved somebody,” Erika remembered thinking, adding that if he had not gone to the doctor, the damage could have become worse.
For Erika, the experience demonstrated that a socially relevant daytime story could sometimes accomplish something beyond entertaining an audience. As she reflected on what had happened, she acknowledged that One Life to Live really could “do some good stuff.”
From the Archives: In a 2004 Ask Erika interview, Erika discusses Viki's heart transplant, Ben's death, and Viki's recovery. On another page, Erika explains how a cameraman's real-life experience with open-heart surgery inspired Viki to carry a pillow during her recovery. A May 16, 2004 newspaper clipping, “Slezak Talks About Viki's Heart,” offers contemporary coverage of the storyline.
