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Latricia Williams and Kenneth Dyer both entered the INTEGRIS Health Heart Hospital in need of life-saving heart transplants. Receiving their new hearts on Valentine’s Day in 2026, the two also left with a lifelong brother-sister bond created during their shared experience.

Both Williams and Dyer will be celebrated at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Saturday, Aug. 1 as the INTEGRIS Health “Home Run For Life” series continues.

The two both had different health struggles over the years prior to their need for a heart transplant.

• Williams was diagnosed with walking pneumonia in the early 90s, which caused fluids to build up around her lungs.
• Dyer suffered a widow-maker heart attack at the age of 32, suffering a 99% blockage which led him to receive 18 stents placed in his heart over the years.  

Their paths crossed at INTEGRIS Health as they both waited for their new hearts. What started as lighthearted banter through a shared experience in the ICU eventually grew into a close friendship. Williams was drawn to Dyer’s optimistic mindset, an important quality for someone in the position both were in. “Kenny always had a positive attitude. He was upbeat. If I didn't learn anything else from him, it was his positivity, that you need to have to get through something like this,” Williams said. “You gotta stay positive. I never question, why me, I always question, why not me.”

Dyer knew from the initial moment he met Williams that their bond would grow into something much bigger. “From the first time I met her, I knew that me and her were gonna be good friends and now I consider her like family,” Dyer said.

Both underwent the journey with a strong support system behind them.

• An Oklahoma City native, Williams had the love of her family beside her as well as the staff at INTEGRIS Health. “I had a great community, I had the great support of my husband and my family, and some people don't have that same opportunity,” Williams said. “My family was very supportive from day one and of course not only my family, but I also had the hospital staff.”
• Located four hours away, traveling wasn’t as easy for Dyer’s family. Despite that, he never felt like he was alone and his family even considered Williams one of their own. “I have such a huge support staff. From the people that I ride motorcycles with to my wife who had to come back home twice for emergencies. Other than that, she stayed right there at that hospital with me,” Dyer said. “My kids went back and forth, to see me, my bonus kids that I've adopted, they were there all the time, so I always had somebody there.”

The biggest step in their journeys came on Valentine’s Day this year with the news they were receiving their new hearts.

• Dyer received his heart first, news that came at a crucial moment with his health deteriorating. “For the last two or three months that I was there, I couldn't get out of bed. That was one of the worst times that I had,” Dyer said. “I was running out of time, being on life support, and my doctor and surgeon came in and said, ‘we've got your heart.’ I screamed at the top of my lungs and there was somebody right next door that I heard scream right back at me and that was my sister [Latricia].”
• Williams wouldn’t have to wait long before her own dream became reality, receiving word just 15 to 20 minutes later that a heart had been found for her. “It was a blessing. I've been offered hearts before but for some reason my heavenly father had told me that those hearts weren't for me,” Williams said. “Come Valentine’s Day, Kenny got his heart first and I was walking that day, but I didn't see him. So, I was walking, I passed his room and he raised up in his bed, and he's like, ‘I got my heart and he said you're next.’”

Reflecting on their shared journey, both are grateful for their chance meeting.

The fact they both got their hearts on Valentine’s Day made the experience much more meaningful. For Williams, it symbolizes the bond she now shares with Dyer. “We got our hearts on Valentine's Day, so he's not only a friend, we call each other brother and sister,” Williams said. “We'll be forever bonded.”

Dyer wouldn’t give up his friendship with Williams for anything and knows he has a friend for life. “We're both trying to rebuild our lives to where we were before we had heart failure. So, we don't get to talk as much, but when we do, I feel better that day,” Dyer said. “There’s not a whole lot of people in my world that do that to me. My wife does, my kids do and Latricia is one of those people now. I wouldn't trade her for anything, even my Harley.”