I got the expected ICD and maybe a heart transplant listing

After a cardiac arrest (luckily in hospital on a heart monitor with a cardiac nurse present) on 7th September (VT requiring 1 shock), I got my ICD (VVI) on 16th September, and after a pocket haematoma was sorted with compression, I came home yesterday (17th).

The two hospitals involved (Great Western at Swindon, and Queen Elizabeth at Birmingham) conferred and transferred me from Swindon to Birmingham so that my heart transplant assessment could go ahead as scheduled (before the ICD was put in). Birmingham will list me for a transplant, if a more detailed renal assessment doesn't throw up any stoppers, so that's the next step. Still not decided whether I'll accept a listing but I have a few months to decide.

Downside of all this is that Iv'e had to cancel a planned house move -- it wasn't practicable when I'm not going to be allowed to drive for at least 6 months. So I'm going to be spending the next few weeks sorting out my transport options.... sigh.

 

3 Comments

You sound so positive

by Gemita - 2021-09-18 14:56:49

Hi Atiras, many thanks for the update and welcome home.  I hope they treated you well while you were in hospital and you got the attention you deserve.

I see that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe and is a national specialist centre for liver, heart and lung transplantation, as well as cancer studies, so you are obviously in good hands if you decide to go ahead and are accepted for a transplant. A big decision though.

Don’t worry about the house move.  It will be less stressful to stay where you are and you need all your strength for the journey ahead.  Are you close to any public transport and have you got your local bus pass?  We both gave up driving a few years ago and don’t regret it, but public transport is excellent where we live.

Good luck Atiras.  You sound amazingly positive and I am sure you will do well

Pleased for you.

by crustyg - 2021-09-18 18:18:44

I hope that the renal assessment gives you the all-clear for that system.

Best wishes.

Thanks for the kind words

by atiras - 2021-09-20 04:02:07

@Gemita, @crustyg -- thank you for the kind words.

 

@Gemita, we have two buses go through the village -- one leaves in the morning and one returns in the afternoon, organised around the school kids! And they go nowhere near anywhere I need to go alas. I shall be investigating volunteer community transport... or taxis, which will rapdily get expensive.

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