Creating survivors – another story

My brother came out from Red Deer to walk with me today. Thanks, Cody, for taking the time away from your business and your grandkids!

While we were on the road west of Hanna a vehicle pulled over and stopped. A man, wife and son were on their way to Saskatoon, where Lydia is from. Lydia’s brother has something called a VAD – Ventricular Assist Device, essentially a substitute heart. With it, he has no pulse, the blood flows continuously, using a sort of electric turbine, so there’s a quiet hum in his chest. There are permanent electric leads that are exposed which he connects to a battery through the day and plugs into the wall at night. Even has an attachment to plug into the cigarette lighter in the car! An amazing piece of technology that someone, somewhere invented. I don’t know if the Heart and Stroke Foundation played a part in this development. I do know that they continue to support critical research into technology and therapies to deal with cardiovascular disease.