Andreas coped his everyday life with a prosthetic leg, but his heart performance was severely limited as a result of the chemotherapy. At the age of 18, his cardiac output was still only about 30 percent. Not much, but enough to live on.

In the following years, Andreas initially did not notice the rapid decline in his cardiac output. 

March 2019: Andreas is writing the intermediate exam for his training as an IT systems electronics technician and feels increasing shortness of breath. The doctors diagnosed pneumonia and a cardiologist examined Andreas' heart. The heart failure became acute and the pumping capacity had already dropped to about 10 percent.

This is too little for normal everyday life. Andreas suffers from an inflammation of the heart muscle, a so-called myocarditis.

At first, Andreas was treated with medication - but without success. To prevent sudden cardiac death, a defibrillator was implanted. Even for this form of therapy, Andreas' heart was already too weakened and his organs failed. 

Andreas was connected to a heart-lung machine (ECMO = Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) and transferred to the University Hospital of Munich (LMU) the same night, where further therapy options were discussed. The doctors decided to implant a biventricular EXCOR^® ventricular assist device to support his heart. 

The operation went very well and Andreas regained his strength. His health improved visibly.

Andreas spent a total of 10 months on the EXCOR^®. During this time, he was even able to pursue his hobbies again. Andreas takes photographs and makes videos in which he records his everyday life in the clinic. Andreas starts his own YouTube channel: happy2Balive. 

In his videos, Andreas describes his everyday life with the EXCOR^® very vividly and thus gives courage and hope to many heart patients in a similar situation.

He gains mobility and can prepare himself for a future heart transplant through targeted training.

In February 2020, Andreas finally receives the long-awaited news. A suitable donor heart is available. 

The heart transplantation goes without complications. Due to his disability, the recovery process was more difficult than it would have been for patients with two healthy legs. Andreas first had to learn to walk again. But after a few months of daily training, he was fit enough to be transferred to a rehabilitation clinic. 

Now Andreas is back home and doing well. He enjoys meeting friends and continues to pursue photography. 

Dear Andreas, we wish you all the very best for your future!