New LVAD patient coming home soon - anything we absolutely need, equipment-wise?

Hi Jocelyn! We really like the shirts, vest and bags from www.LVADGear.com. Brent, the owner of LVAD Gear has an LVAD and has perfected the right products for LVAD recipients. Check out the site and contact him with any questions. He also is on Facebook and other sites. Here are reviews from his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LVADGear/reviews/?ref=page_internal Take care

My husband got his LVAD 4 months ago and while we purchased the LVAD shirts and belts to sleep he has since just went to wearing a pair of shorts to bed and lays the controller next to him, he really doesn't toss and turn at night so this works best for him and no cumbersome clothing to wear at night. The TruSpec conceal and carry shirt you mentioned works best for my husband when exercising and I just sewed a pocket to the front for his controller. If you sew or know someone who does play around with what type of shirts work best for him. I haven't sewed in years but bought a machine and have been playing around with shirt ideas-the latest one he really finds comfortable is a sleeveless Russell polyester shirt we bought at Walmart for $10 and turn up the hem all the way around 8 inches this makes one large pocket all the way around the shirt. After that I section it off where he wanted the controller and batteries by just sewing up and down to make the size pockets he needs, for example the controller is in front which is a 4 inch wide pocket and the batteries he likes to wear more toward the side of his body to even out the weight out, they are 9.5 inches long and the I sew along top of pocket to leave an opening at the top that is only 5.5 inches, this way it holds batteries in if he bend over to pick something up off the floor for example. The he just wears another shirt overtop when he goes out or to Cardiac Rehab. Hope this doesn't sound too confusing, mostly it is trial and error to find what works for you-we live in Florida so finding lightweight clothing has been the best for him. Good Luck!

My husband has been wearing Maria Ruzich's vests for years now. The batteries and controller are concealed and the vests look great. The fabric is high quality and her sewing skills are excellent. She is a professional seamstress and her personalized customer service is exceptional. https://vadvest.com/about-us My husband found that the concealed carry shirts were hot and of course the controller generates its own heat. Maria's vests are ventilated inside and durable as well as handsome. He had a heart transplant last year and still wears her vests for a more dressed-up look. I don't know how you have set up the dressing change table but we used a lap table with folding legs and my husband laid on the bed under it while I used that as my sterile field.