Life With a Vad

What is a Vad? 

is a mechanical pump that helps your heart pump blood throughout your body. It's typically used for patients with severe heart failure, either as a temporary solution while waiting for a heart transplant (bridge to transplant) or as a long-term treatment (destination therapy) 

Me attending a friend's birthday with Vad

Having the VAD for 18 months made going out an impossible task. Simple weekends away required carrying batteries with me at all times, and I couldn't travel far in case I got the call for a heart transplant. I had to miss out on a lot of friends' birthdays and other special occasions that required travel. Activities near water, like water parks, were off-limits. I remember my friend having a pool party that I couldn't attend due to the risk of having the VAD near water.

Additionally, my mom had to put tape around my stomach and clean my wound with manuka honey regularly to prevent infection. I also couldn't do activities that involved spinning around a lot, as I couldn't risk the bag flying around since it was attached to my stomach. Going through security was nearly impossible, and concerts were challenging because I would have had to take the bag off my shoulder and explain to security about the device, which was impossible 

I wanted to have an outlet for my fashion and would still want to dress up when going places as I could only wear t-shirts and jeans and I had a friend's 21st coming up and I wanted to wear a fancy ball gown so I wore this black lace dress I took it to the dressmaker, and she managed to alter it so I could still wear it. 

As someone in my early 20s, it was challenging not being able to wear dresses to certain events, as that was more my style. I had to go to the dress shop where she measured everything to ensure it fit around the driveline. I was also approached by the Sydney team to help design VADs (Ventricular Assist Devices) for other young females. The goal was to make them feel comfortable in their skin and still feel like themselves while living with the VAD."

Diagram of the VAD

Given my reliance on backup equipment, I could never leave the house without it. Each night, I had to plug myself into a wall unit, and if the power went out, I had to connect to my backup batteries.