1000 Hearts: Eddie’s Story

A heart attack seemingly out of nowhere had left him with advanced heart failure, a gall bladder rupture, kidney failure and a serious blood clot in his ankle, with his heart reliant on a highly specialised form of life support.

Over the next seven months and several surgeries, Eddie would slowly progress from daily physio sessions in his bed while still connected to the machines keeping him alive, to sitting up and eventually walking again.

“I knew the recovery was slow, but I just kept thinking, ‘at least I’m alive’,” Eddie, aged 40, said.

With his critical condition making him ineligible for a heart transplant at that time, Eddie underwent open heart surgery to have a lifesaving Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), a battery-operated mechanical pump, implanted.

While grateful for his second chance, Eddie said the restrictions of the VAD, which is connected to an externally worn unit carried around in a small pack, powered by battery, took time to adjust to.

“Wearing the VAD was the only thing I could do – but it meant things like preparing to have a shower would take over 45 minutes, and I’d need someone to help me.”

“You can’t move around freely, because you always have the backpack on you,” said Eddie. “I’d always be worried about going for a walk for too long, and I would get tired from carrying around the extra weight of the pump bag.”

With his team’s encouragement, and while still undergoing daily dialysis for his kidney, Eddie set his sights on getting fit enough to be listed for a heart and kidney transplant.

“I just wanted to do whatever it took,” Eddie said.

“I went to The Alfred’s heart rehabilitation gym and I completed my program three times a week. I knew I had to get fitter.”

When recurrent bouts of acute pancreatitis threatened to derail Eddie’s transplant dream, he worked closely with his team to optimise his medications and further improve his lifestyle and diet.

Eventually, Eddie’s team gave him the green light to be listed for transplant.

“I was scared and I didn’t want to hope too much that the call would come. I just had my bags packed and thought, ‘I will leave this to the Lord’.”

The call ended up coming one evening at 9pm.

“My VAD nurse rang and said ‘Eddie, we’ve found the perfect heart and kidney for you.’”

With his family behind him, Eddie arrived at The Alfred ready to take his bravest step.

“When I woke up I just thought – I have a responsibility to look after these organs now, and do everything I can to live my life.”

After over a month in hospital, including a second admission with a serious kidney infection, Eddie is now looking forward to what the future holds.

“I’d always look at patients in the gym who had just had their transplant and think, ‘that’s the light at the end of the tunnel.’ Seeing them made me push through.”

“Now I’m there too, I just want to do my best to look after myself, and to do the things I couldn’t do before; simple things, like having a shower without help, walking in the park, or taking the stairs.”

“They’re the things I want to enjoy. Just having a stable, simple life, feeling strong and healthy, and just being grateful every day that that I’m alive.”

Eddie’s was the 1000th heart transplant undertaken at The Alfred.

This year, we’re celebrating this incredible milestone and the inspiring stories of those who have been part of this journey, as part of our 1000 Hearts campaign.

Learn more at alfredhealth.org.au/1000hearts, and celebrate the incredible stories of our cardiac patients, teams and community.