The HeartMate II has come to Michigan!

I am a Physical Therapist, working at Spectrum Health Continuing Care Center, and we are the first subacute rehab facility in West Michigan to become LVAD certified. Today, my Occupational Therapist partner and I discharged HOME, to a rural area, our very first HeartMateII patient! Because our own Lena Meijer Heart Center and the University of Michigan are the only hospitals in Michigan to do the procedure, we feel honored to be a part of it.

Prior to his LVAD, our patient could barely walk 50 feet, without becoming winded and feeling weak in the knees. He couldn't keep on weight, and was always short of breath. Yesterday, he walked 1500 feet without a break! He went up and down a flight of stairs easily, without leaning on the rails or breathing hard. He has pink in his cheeks, and is able to sleep without propping himself up on pillows. He feels better than he has in years, and we were teary-eyed as we sent him home. We are so excited that, after four months of hospitalizations, he can celebrate Easter Sunday at home with his family.

Because this device is so new to West Michigan (none of our team had seen one before November of this year, and now we suddenly have three on caseload), there are kinks to be worked out in how to go about sending patients with LVADs home , especially to rural areas...notifying the power company, training local paramedics, family education, etc. The Heart Center now has 250 LVAD surgeries lined up for next year! I am looking forward to learning more about other patients' experiences with these, so I can tell my patients what to expect.