LVAD Talk with Frankie DeFore - LVAD EXPLANT - RECORED LIVE!!!!

Went to the ER on 7/13/20 (early pandemic) for shortness of breath. went into cardiogenic shock. Family was called in to say goodbye.
I stabilized enough to be lifeflighted and was put on a helicopter to Piedmont Atlanta, where i was placed on ecmo and left in an induced coma. Got woken up about 9 days in and asked if i wanted an LVAD, essentially, if i wanted to live. I said yeah, lets do it, and they put me back out. After a stroke on ecmo, my lvad (&rvad) implant became emergent, and while dr. Dean was scheduled to perform it dr. Damle was on call, so he implanted both on 7/30/20. I was only awake a couple more time before my RVAD was explanted on 8/14/20, with the right side function showing a little improvement. After that, I was profoundly delusional for awhile, i was losing weight rapidly and hallucinating, and people spoke of hospice and my lvad being destination, how i wasn't out of the woods... And that went on for months. It was really just 'try not to die'. I was reintubated several times. Extubated myself once. Had a hard time. Had absolutely no visitors, due to the pandemic, for the entire time.
But, i made it out of the hospital. I was emaciated, barely walking, in a lot of pain, and in a very confused headspace. I went to live on my sisters couch for the next 3 months, unable to care for myself.
So fast forward 6 months. I was getting around a lot better. Carrying my controller and batteries was no longer exhausting me. I was starting to drive, and i was being worked up for transplant.
My LV improvement looked better at e… Read More