"I always remind myself that I can only live with it, and without it I can't live without it." Liao Cui, a 34-year-old Wuhan woman, will carry a pink bag with her, no matter where she goes. There is no key or lipstick in the bag, but a "engine" for her heart to run. The other end connects the pump embedded in her left ventricle through a thin wire. May 9, 2022 is the 984th day after Liao Cui received an artificial heart transplant. Her heart can no longer beat normally, and she can only rely on this blood pump implanted into her body to "generate electricity" for herself.
When interviewed by a reporter from the Yangzi Evening News Ziniu News, Liao Cui said that this artificial heart can last her life for about ten years. After the machine ages, she still has to make another plan. She calls herself a "lucky" person. "I have experienced two sudden death rescues in the hospital, and it is difficult to breathe. My biggest feeling after being discharged is that life is like a countdown, and nothing is more important than living well."
Implantable artificial heart
brings hope of rebirth to young mothers
February 23, 2017, the day before her daughter Tiantian was born, Liao Cui was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in the hospital. This is a heart disease that can cause cardiac disorders and failure. It can control the deterioration of the disease through drugs, but it cannot be completely cured. Before she could even take a look at the child, she was rushed to the cardiology department for treatment. Two years have passed, and her condition has not improved at all. Instead, she has entered the end stage of heart failure and is at risk of sudden death at any time. The doctor told her that only by "changing hearts" can she control the development of the disease.
But for heart disease patients, an adapted "heart donor" is really rare. Many patients like her have passed away before they can wait. Liao Cui also had a special situation. She told reporters: "The results showed that the antibodies in my body were too high, which means that even if I had a donor transplant, the rejection reaction would be very serious, and the surgery would be in vain."
At that time, she couldn't eat or sleep. She was 1.68 meters tall and lost to 40 kilograms. "I can't do anything, and I eat, drink, defecate and urinate all in the bed. I always feel that I'm dragging my family down. I have no particularly strong desire to live." Liao Cui said that when the ward is quiet, she would lie on the bed and feel her heart beating, which is very slow and weak.
But she didn't give up completely. She put a book next to the pillow of the hospital bed, which was given by a patient, "Life No Limits" written by a broken-arm writer Nick Huzhe. There is a saying in the book: "If you plan to give up your dream and tell yourself to hold on for one more day, one week, one month, and one more year, you will find that the result of refusing to leave is surprising." At that time, Liao Cui's dream was just to live.
In the end, her persistence was feedback, and this time Liao Cui was "lucky". The fully magnetically suspended artificial heart developed by a medical technology company in Suzhou has entered the clinical trial stage. As long as Liao Cui and her family agree, they can participate in the trial, and she agrees immediately. Liao Cui said that she was not afraid because she knew clearly that this might be the last chance she could survive. "Those who have never experienced our situation may not be as awe of life as I do. I have experienced two sudden death rescues in the hospital, and it is difficult to breathe. I can't think about it, without it, I can't live."
Liao Cui was lying on the hospital bed for treatment. There was an extra engine in the heart
both her support and her burden for living
At first, the artificial heart transplant was taken out, and she replaced it with a mechanical heart. After listening to the doctor's introduction, she realized that it was not that simple. Currently, artificial hearts are divided into auxiliary artificial hearts and completely artificial hearts. The first type is commonly used in the medical field around the world. The mechanical heart consists of four parts: blood pump, drive device, monitoring system, and energy. The fully magnetically suspended artificial heart transplanted by Liao Cui belongs to this. It has a thickness of only 26 mm, a diameter of 50 mm, and a weight of less than 180 grams. The chest device at one end can be compared to a "blood pump" embedded in her left ventricle, and the other end is connected to a micro electronic box outside the body through a wire extending from the abdomen, which energy the "blood pump" at a certain speed, thereby circulating blood in the whole body.
Artificial heart microelectronic box used by Liao Cui
On August 30, 2019, Liao Cui underwent artificial heart implantation surgery in a hospital in Wuhan. Before the operation, she posted on her Moments, saying, "I made the worst plan, but I still had the greatest expectations." When she woke up again, the operation had been successfully over. She was lying on the hospital bed and heard the ticking sound from the ventilator. As she became quiet around, she could still hear the "buzzing" sound of gear rotation, which was the sound of the external electronic box running and a signal of her being alive. 45 days later, Liao Cui was discharged from the hospital successfully and she began to learn to live with this mechanical heart.
Liao Cui was very uncomfortable at first. She didn't dare to go out on rainy days. She had to carry a black electronic box wherever she went, which looked very ugly. In the first two years after the operation, she was unwilling to take a full-body photo. "Swimming, hot spring bathing, and rafting are all things I used to do, but now I don't dare to do it anymore. When I get close to the water, I'm afraid. My wounds cannot be stained with water." Speaking of this, she also mentioned a patient in her 40s. "He also had an artificial heart transplant. He loves cleaning and especially bathing. Because of this hobby, he sent him to the hospital for rescue twice. The attending doctor advised him to take less baths. Survival is the most important thing." Before, Liao Cui never thought that even taking a bath with pleasure became a luxury.
She told reporters: "I also hope that I can live like a normal person, but in real life it is really impossible." For example, she doesn't take buses, high-speed rail or plane when she goes out, but only drives. Patients with artificial heart transplants cannot take public transportation. The magnetic field of security checks is very sensitive. A little closer will affect the speed of the "engine" in the electronic box, and indirectly disturb the frequency of blood circulation.
Therefore, Liao Cui changed her habit of traveling regularly. In August 2020, she really wanted to go out to see her. Her lover took a long vacation to accompany her. The two set out from Wuhan and drove to Enshi Lichuan for more than 9 hours. However, considering her health, she didn't dare to go too far on this trip, and she didn't even go out in Hubei Province.
Create a group of 18 patients
Change the black electronic box to pink
"I always remind myself that I can only live with it, but I can't live without it." Liao Cui said that she had had a conflicting mind when facing the implanted artificial heart. On the one hand, she knew that this was a life-saving straw, and on the other hand, it was like a timed alarm clock, telling her every moment: You are a patient, and your life is counting down. When she went to the hospital for a review, her favorite question to the doctor was, "How long can this heart last?"
"In the past two years, I was very closed and unwilling to contact anyone. I think they couldn't understand my pain. If I talk too much, it would make me even more sad." Later, she took the initiative to contact other patients according to the doctor's advice, and then slowly opened the knot in her heart. Liao Cui created an online group, and the 17 people in the group, like her, all changed their artificial hearts. The longest patient has been using it for 4 years.
Liao Cui said that after meeting them, life seemed to be slowly returning to the right track. "What tips have you discovered in your life? For example, how to do it while taking a bath to reduce the probability of water getting into the wound, or if you want to talk to me, you will send it to the group." There are some precautions that the doctor may not know, but the patients discovered it early. According to Liao Cui’s knowledge, the total number of patients with artificial heart transplants in China currently does not exceed 100. This also means that there are still many unknowns in this medical field, and they will work with medical staff to explore more possibilities together.
Lao Cui’s birthday last year, her lover learned from her patients that the electronic box they carried with them could actually be replaced, so he specially bought a small pink bag to give it to her. The bag is thin and will not be annoying when carrying it. It also matches the light-colored clothes she often wears. In this way, she seems to have regained her former self who loves taking photos. "In winter, you don't need a backpack at all. You can put the battery in your vest, so it will be very comfortable to wear on your body. These things are taught by my patients."
A pink bag containing an artificial heart miniature electronic box
Living well, living well
Always hold hope for life
Now every 3 months, Liao Cui has to go to the hospital for examination.For patients with end-stage heart failure, implantation of an artificial heart is not the end point, but a transition period. During this period, if your heart function recovers, or you wait for the adapted donor, you have the hope of taking off this set of equipment and returning to normal life. So every time she goes to the hospital, she will ask the doctor, "Is my heart better?" Even though the answers she gets are always unsatisfactory, she still holds hope because a patient she knows recovers health after wearing an artificial heart for less than two years.
Someone also asked Liao Cui, "What should you do when the mechanical heart is aging?" In the past, she was trapped in this question and was anxious and depressed for a while. Until a patient she knew told her, "What do you think so much? When it gets old, change to a new one! Only when people live can they have infinite possibilities." She was willing to believe a sentence that seemed particularly "chicken soup-like". Liao Cui said she didn't know whether it was affected by the artificial heart or the painful experience. She had a strong personality and changed a lot. Now she only believes in one truth: "Nothing is more important than health. Every day is the youngest day in life. You must live well and live well."
Now Liao Cui is smiling at life. She used to like shopping. She rarely tried clothes in the mall after the transplant surgery. Most of them were shopping online or simply compared in the mirror. "Because one time when I was buying clothes, I needed to bring an electronic box into the fitting room and was stopped outside the door. Two or three salesmen surrounded me for checking." Liao Cui told reporters that she couldn't understand at the time and was a little angry. Now I think about it, I feel much relieved. "They also have their own work tasks, and they are not intentionally trying to hurt me."
Liao Cui carried a small pink bag with an artificial heart micro electronic box
In order to "foster the heart", Liao Cui's daily routine was particularly regular. She got up at 7 o'clock in the morning and sent her children to school. After doing micro-business purchasing agents, she would reserve an hour of nap time at noon. At 10:30 in the evening, she would go to bed on time. The external electronic box of the artificial heart has two batteries, one for blood pumping to generate electricity, and the other for spare. My daughter Tiantian is particularly well-behaved and sensible. Once the electronic box is reminded of electricity shortage, she will hurried over and get a spare battery for her mother. She also knew that her mother was afraid of water, so she would let her mother walk on the other side far away from the water every time she walked to the river bank.
Liao Cui and her sensible daughter Tiantian
Liao Cui said that about the future, she wanted to start a live broadcast and introduce the use of artificial hearts to people who don’t know. Now she is used to this unpopular bag and accepts her imperfect self. Instead of worrying too much about life and death, I hope to live a good moment and enjoy every minute and every second of being with my family.
Ziniu News Intern Reporter｜Sun Qingyun
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