Husband is 74 and getting a LVAD on April 23.

My son has had an LVAD for 3 years, is driving, working a full-time plus job, taking care of his pre-teen daughter, living life to its fullest. His wife changes his dressing every day and they haven't had an infection yet. Another friend of mine was over 70 when she got her LVAD. She had a full life, traveled from Indiana to Florida every winter and took multiple cruises for 3 years until she died of something else.

Thank you so much for replying to me. It's wonderful to hear such good news! Thanks again!

I am with you JS...My dad is 70 and is getting LVAD within the next week or so...I am very scared as well. Thanks everybody for all of your posts, they have helped me so very much. Bless you all! JS we can get through this together =) Can anyone tell me how to schedule people to help? I am concerned I won't have enough help. Any pointers? Thank you!

My husband is 59, had his 8-12, he is still working and driving. My goal is for him to learn his dressing, which I do daily, but, at least he doing so much better!! My prayers are with you and your family. Hope

Thank you so much, Hope and Bibby for your posts. It means so much to know that we are not alone. Bibby, I too would like to know how to get as much help as possible. May God be with you both! I pray that the surgeon's hands and the hands of the nurses will both be guided by the Blessed Mother and her son Jesus. I'll will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

JS my Dad is also getting his LVAD April 23rd...Wish we were at the same place...I will try my best to keep in touch with you before during and after their surgery. May God watch over your husband and give you strength to get through all of this. Please know that I am here and you are not alone. Much love and many prayers for you all...Bibby

Thanks, Bibby

My husband is getting his at New York Presbyterian. Please keep in touch. Blessings to you.

Hello JS, my husband was 76 when he got his LVAD in Chicago on March 16, 2011. It was a lifesaver indeed, so please be strong and have faith. Thank God, today he is fully functional and we are blessed to be living life to its fullest! You will do the same by the GRACE OF GOD! Just a few precautions, be diligent about the dry dressing of the LVAD driveline site and gently coax him to become independent, focus on nutrition, exercise and sleep and before you know it he will be on his way to being his good old self. We are indeed blessed for this second lease of life! Take care and my prayers will be with you and your family. NaseemR

Hello Naseem, Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I will be diligent on the dressing around the drive line. When I watch the CD there are so many lights and sounds and signals to be aware of on the system controller. I pray that we do not get nervous when something like that happens. But I know that the hospital won't release him until we know what we are doing. I have many people praying for us and I know that he can't go on living the way he is now. I know that this will give us a new lease on life. Thanks and God Bless!

When my husband received his LVAD in September, he could not walk to the end of our driveway and get the paper. He was in the hospital 5 weeks after surgery and his recovery was very slow. He had rehab at the hospital to basically get his strength back after being inactive for so long. It has been 6 months now and he is doing really well. He can walk 30 minutes on the treadmill and can do almost anything he could do before. It will take time but as another LVAD patient told him "Walk, walk, walk!" He has adjusted well to all the equipment and loves to share his story with people and explain all the equipment. It was scary coming home from the hospital because they do everything for you but we quickly adopted a routine and I practiced the dressing change so many times at the hospital I felt prepared. We went into this with a positive attitude and had great results. It's so nice to have my husband back!

My father received his LVAD in September 2012 at NY Pres Cornell. He is on the transplant list at NY Pres Columbia. The recovery after LVAD surgery was long and hard on my dad (he is 63). He is doing okay now. Much better than before the surgery. He can go to work and do things during the day unlike before. However, he still gets very tired quickly and needs a lot of sleep. His right heart is also not doing so well so he is on a milronone steriod by IV at home. He also has had some internal bleeding due to the LVAD that had him hospitalized a few times. All in all though he is much better and at least stronger waiting for his transplant.

Thanks, Lisa Mandel, for replying to my post. Today is April 16th and my husband's surgery is on April 23 at New York Presbyterian. I'm suffering from anticipatory anxiety and reading hopeful comments like yours make life a little easier. It's so hard when you do not know what to expect. The only thing we can do is pray and hope for the best and that my husband's life will be easier than what he is going through now. He says he can't go on what the way he is now so this is the only alternative. Please keep us in mind and I hope your keeps getting better and that he gets his transplant.

The doctors and nurses were wonderful after surgery. My father was in the hospital for a month after. Your husband is in great hands and we are lucky to live so close to a hospital with such great technology and doctors. I will pray for your husband and just believe that this will all be worth it and he will improve greatly after a long hard three months.

Hello JS! I have been praying for you and your husband =) I know he was to have had the surgery yesterday the 23rd..I pray that all went well and he is doing good. My father decided against the LVAD for now, mostly because of second thoughts and my mother being disabled he just didnt want to do it..I was like relieved but also iffy on his decision but it's his to make. I am here and if you need to talk or anything I'm here..I know your going through alot and just know you are not alone..My name is Vivian and my phone #423-753-0700 or (Cell)423-676-1572..Please feel free to call me if you need to or just need someone to talk to..May God give you strength and your husband a good start with his new LVAD..Much love to you and your husband..God Bless =)

Dear Bippy and all who have been so suportive to me. Well my husband did not get the LVAD on April 23rd at New York Presbyterian. What happened was that when the put him under for the operation, they did a scope and found that the right side of the heart had considerably been compromised from February when he had his cardiac catherization. Talk about being stressed out. He was in the hospital for 9 days and they put him on many drips, one being Milronone which is supposed to strengthen the right side of the heart. He's home now, feeling a little better. Maybe this is the way it is supposed to be. I was so devasted because we were told that he was a perfect candidate. Has anyone else had this problem? Will the medicine strengten his heart? I am worried all the time. Please answer me someone. Thank you.

My father's right heart was very weak before surgery as well and he was put on milronone drip at home prior to surgery. It helped so much that time. He was able to go through the surgery about a month after he started the IV drip.

Unfortunately, even with LVAD, my father is back on milronone at home as his right heart cannot keep up with his left side working so strong with the pump. He has been placed on level 1A for a transplant and we are hoping for a call soon.

JS, I am so sorry to hear that your husband is having some trouble..I pray that he will get stronger and stronger with this medication he is taking. I have not heard of that medication he is currently taking but if I hear anything I will be sure to let you know. Honey, I know you all are disappointed but like you say maybe it's suppose to happen this way. God bless you both and know I am here..If you ever call and I don't answer please leave me a message..Keep your head up and please tell your husband we are praying for him =) Much love and many blessings..Viv

My father in law is a 64 year old male that is in congestive heart failure. The doctor at the VA hospital said that 80% of his heart is dead and they were not sure if there was anything that can be done. The next doctor brought up the option of a LVAD surgery. (It is the same thing that Vice President Dick Cheney had a while back). To make a long story short, after a transfer to a different hospital across the state, what seemed like 10 different doctors and being moved out of ICU, the doctor's will not move forward with looking into this surgery for him. By all aspects that we have read and been told by medical professionals that are not part of the VA hospital, he is a perfect candidate for this surgery and it should be the most obvious solution to his current state. My question is this, who do we need to talk to in order to get this started. We tried patient advocate, and got the run around, the surgeon gave us the run around. We really feel as if they are trying to "wait him out" knowing the end is near. Any thoughts on what our next step should be or who we should contact? How can we get them to consider this surgery for him? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Ashley

When I had my heart problems I went to a local hospital who is know to be a heart hospital in our area. After eight days of testing and checking, they said they could not do anything for me. They sent me to Duke and the doctor there put the heartmate 2 lvad in. I have had it since march 2013. I now feel better than I have in a long time. You learn to live with the adjustment you need to make. For me this has been a good.