Advertisement

Did Amy Loughren from "The Good Nurse" Get a Heart Transplant?

Did Amy Loughren from "The Good Nurse" Get a Heart Transplant?

Content warning: This article contains references to murder some may find upsetting. There are also spoilers for Netflix's The Good Nurse. Reader discretion is advised.

Picture your BFF or favorite co-worker. Now, picture yourself working with the police to turn them in because they are a serial killer who may have murdered as many as 400 people. Insane, right? Well, that's exactly what nurse Amy Loughren had to do in 2003. Her story is dramatized in the new Netflix movie, The Good Nurse, starring Jessica Chastain as Amy and Eddie Redmayne as murderer Charles Cullen.

In both the movie and real life, Amy was a struggling single mom of two girls trying her hardest to make ends meet, while also dealing with serious health issues. Per Newsweek, Amy had cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.

the good nurse, netflix
JoJo Whilden/Netflix

In an early scene of The Good Nurse, Amy learns that if she continues working her long hours, she could be "looking at a serious coronary incident within months, which could be fatal." She needs to be put on the heart transplant list and is at a high risk of having a stroke.

ADVERTISEMENT

Unfortunately, Amy can't take medical leave from her job just yet. Her health insurance will kick in after she's been there for a year, and she still has several months to go. This is part of the reason she and Charles Cullen developed such a strong bond before his crimes came to light; he would help her out with her workload so her failing heart wouldn't take so much of a beating before she could get surgery.

Thankfully, we learn at the end of the movie that the real Amy did receive the surgery she needed for her heart. Amy said in an October 2022 interview with TooFab that she's healthier now than she was 20 years ago when these events transpired: "I'm now 17-18 years outside of my heart surgery."

Today, Amy is living in Florida as a spiritual healer and has retired from nursing.

You Might Also Like