The GH heart transplant story was amazing.
As General Hospital approaches its 60th anniversary on the air, we can’t help looking back at some of its strongest stories like Maxie Jones getting her heart transplant. Soaps are, first and foremost, about stories. Love in the afternoon and all that. But soaps also take us into the hearts of families, and how they deal with their greatest joys and their deepest sorrows. Especially when they happen at the same time.
Little Maxie (Robyn Richards) was dying. She desperately needed a heart transplant. Her parents, Felicia (Kristina Wagner) and Frisco (Jack Wagner), not to mention Felicia’s love, Mac (John J. York), were praying for a suitable donor before it was too late. And then they got word that a heart was available. From a pediatric donor, no less. Their prayers had been answered.
But what Felicia didn’t know was that the heart would be coming from Maxie’s own cousin, BJ, daughter of Tony (Brad Maule) and Bobbie (Jacklyn Zeman). BJ had just been critically injured in a school bus crash, where she was rescued by GH orderly Miguel (played by Ricky Martin… yes, that Ricky Martin).
BJ’s death and Maxie’s subsequent transplant weren’t just some of the best-written, and most heart-wrenching drama ever played out in any television drama, daytime or primetime, but the repercussions from the story would go on to affect multiple characters. Tony’s grief — and the fact that Bobbie was with Damian (Leigh McCloskey) as BJ was dying — was at least partially responsible for Tony cheating with Carly. Which led to Tony’s breakdown after he learned Michael wasn’t his son. Which led to Jason’s (Steve Burton) bond with Michael. Which led to Carly’s endless back and forth with Sonny (Maurice Benard).
It also led to a weak copycat storyline years later, with Joss’s (Eden McCoy) kidney and the presumed dead Jake. But it didn’t even come close. BJ’s heart is still the original…and the best.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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