Christopher Reid Of Kid ‘N Play Got A New Lease On Life After Receiving A Heart Transplant

"I’m urging all of my fans, all of your loved ones, to get checked out."

Christopher Reid, “Kid” from the legendary hip-hop group Kid ‘N Play, revealed the full story behind his heart transplant surgery

On Good Morning America, Reid told Michael Strahan that he had a heart transplant last year after noticing he was very lethargic and wasn’t feeling his normal self. After going to the emergency room last July, doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure.

“Over the last year or so, maybe just starting feeling more fatigued than before, shortness of breath, sleeping more than normal,” the 61-year-old told Strahan.

Since Reid figured it had more to do with him getting older and slowing down, even though he and his partner, Christopher Martin, AKA “Play,” still perform shows around the globe.

After being prescribed medication to help with the condition, three weeks following the visit, his doctor noticed that the drugs weren’t effective.

“He came in very swollen again, and that is a little unusual in somebody who’s been started on treatment, for the swelling to come back that quickly,” Erika Jones, Reid’s cardiologist, said. After Reid’s blood work drew concerns, he was immediately advised to return to the hospital, where he was told his only option was a heart transplant.

More than a week later, he got the phone call after being placed on a waiting list that a heart was available.

“They’re saying, ‘Yeah, we got the heart, and we want to put it in tomorrow night at 10 p.m.,’” Reid said. “We are like, ‘Excuse me?’ But that’s how it is. So the next night, 10 p.m., we go in, and about seven hours later, I have a new heart.”

Kid says he is deeply appreciative of his new lease on life and plans to enjoy the gift he received last summer. He also urges people, specifically people of color, to stay on top of their health.

“A lot of people are walking around with heart disease because they don’t go to the doctor. And you know, traditionally, people of color, we don’t go,” he said. “We don’t go for a lot of reasons. Sometimes we don’t go because we don’t have insurance. A lot of times we don’t go because we don’t want the bad news or we too busy just hustling trying to make it from day to day and we feel we don’t got time or we’ll get over it.

“Well, you might not,” Reid advised. “So I’m urging all of my fans, all of your loved ones, to get checked out.”