The stories of Paolo Garrido and Dani Alcaraz are two examples of this waiting period marked by the longing for a new life. Pablo wears an artificial heart whilst waiting for a transplant. Dani wore a artificial heart for a few months until he underwent a heart transplant in October 2024.
Paolo’s case. A wait with external batteries
Paolo Garrido is 25 and arrived in Barcelona from Venezuela in 2017. His life was turned upside down on 31 December 2021 when he woke up on his birthday unable to move half of his body. A stroke changed his future forever. “It was blood clots in the brain and the heart. I couldn’t get out of bed”, he recalls. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with genetic heart disease. His father had died young from heart problems.
The disease progressed quickly. “I had a lot of arrhythmias, palpitations and was getting worse”. In 2023, he had a defibrillator implanted, but it was not enough. In May 2024, the symptoms worsened and he was offered a transplant. Until this arrives, Paolo will need the support of a left ventricular assist device a device that will allow him to remain stable until a new heart arrives.
“Now I wear it all the time. Part of it was implanted inside my body and it has batteries that are worn at one side at waist level. It is 50% of me. If I remove it, I could die”, explains Paolo, aware of his dependence on the technology. He carries a small bag—like a toilet bag—at all times, with new batteries in case these ones run out. He has had to adapt his routine to learn to detect warning signs, and to take extreme care of the wound in order to avoid infections. “I can’t have a full shower and have to clean the wound very thoroughly every day. It is a complicated adaptation”. However, the ventricular assistance has given him the chance to walk again without getting breathless. “Now I can leave the house. I couldn't do that before. I was always tired”, he concludes.
