MIAMI — It took 18 months of uncertainty and sacrifice, but Kenneth Harmer finally got a new heart.

Harmer, a Tamarac resident, became Jackson Memorial Hospital’s ninth heart transplant recipient on Monday, more than a year after he was placed on the organ waiting list.

“Kenny is tired and he’s a little puffy from the surgery, but he’s in good spirits,” said Harmer’s fiancee, Suzie Funda, 27, of Coral Springs. “All he kept saying to me was, ‘We did it. We did it.’ He’s so grateful that someone was willing to donate an organ.”

Harmer’s plight has attracted the attention of thousands, including U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. Appearances by television stars Peter Lupus and Greg Morris helped raise $85,000 for the operation.

“We’re so grateful to the people who donated money. We’re just elated. What a relief this is,” said Lillian Harmer, the patient’s mother. “We’ve been waiting for so long.”

“But this makes it all worthwhile,” her husband, Walter Harmer, said. “He’s in great spirits. They really did the job right.”

Harmer, 30, who suffers from cardiomyopathy, a disease that deteriorates the heart muscle, was initially hospitalized in January 1987 and told that he would need a heart transplant. He was placed on Jackson Memorial’s transplant list in July last year. At that time, doctors determined he had an expected survival of six to 12 months, said Laurie Futterman, coordinator of the hospital’s heart transplant unit.

While he waited for a suitable heart, Harmer’s life was put on hold.

He called off his May 1987 wedding to Funda because the couple could not afford the operation. As he grew weaker and weaker, Harmer lost his job as a nurse for a kidney dialysis center.

“He always had ideas and plans. But there were so many things he couldn’t do because of the disease,” said Walter Harmer.

Still, Kenneth Harmer never seemed to give up, his father said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s always in good spirits.”

About a month ago, Harmer and his fiancee set a new date for their wedding, Feb. 25, Funda said.

“We figured we were going to get married, transplant or no transplant,” she said. “We were getting a little bit discouraged, but we decided we were going to think about ourselves now, start our lives all over again.”

One of Harmer’s biggest battles has been raising money for the transplant. Fund-raising efforts came to a virtual halt after the Maria DeSillers controversy.

The $85,000 raised by family and friends will barely pay for the transplant and initial medication, said Suzie Funda’s sister, Nancy. Harmer owes the hospital another $40,000. In addition, follow-up care and medication will cost about $10,000 a year — for the rest of Harmer’s life.

“I can’t describe how hard it was,” Walter Harmer said, referring to the months of waiting. “We had a couple of false alarms before and that just added fuel to the fire.”

This time, however, there was no false alarm.

Harmer went to the hospital for a regular checkup on Monday morning. While he was there, doctors told him they had a possible donor — an accident victim from Palm Beach County.

By 4 p.m., Harmer was being prepared for surgery and his family was in the waiting room. Harmer went into the operating room at about 5:30 p.m. and came out six hours later.

For Harmer’s family, those six hours seemed to drag on for an eternity.

“That was a tough grind for everybody. There are always those nagging doubts,” Walter Harmer said. “And you always think that someone had to leave the Earth for (Kenneth) to have this.”

Harmer is expected to leave the hospital in about a week. After that, he faces a lifetime of rehabilitation and medication, as well as financial problems.

But, for now, his family is celebrating the successful operation and pushing worries aside.

“We’ll take one step at a time and find ways to get the funding,” said Walter Harmer. “I just want him to get on with his life.”