Thanks to you, Allan is at home in Adelaide and close to his friends while he waits for a heart transplant. 

Following a heart attack in July 2016, Allan, 60, was diagnosed with heart failure and underwent stent and pacemaker operations in the hope of improving his health.

He’d always led an active life, enjoying being among nature, bushwalking and kayaking. But heart failure left him constantly breathless and unable to walk more than 40 metres without stopping.

Last June, three years after his heart attack, he travelled to a specialist heart centre, The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, for further tests. That visit turned into a nearly three-month stay following two open heart surgeries to implant two Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) pumps that pump blood from the lower ventricle chambers of his heart.

Each pump has external batteries and a controller which Allan carries in two shoulder bags, working continuously to keep his heart functioning while he waits to be considered for a heart transplant.

But thanks to your generous support, a new HeartMate 3 system monitor has been purchased for Flinders Medical Centre’s Heart Transplant Service so Allan, and patients like him, can return from Melbourne sooner and be cared for locally in Adelaide.

Previously patients had to spend about three months in Melbourne to be cared for by staff at The Alfred. But this system means they can return to Adelaide within a month after the pump implant.

Allan is very grateful to be receiving treatment from his medical team closer to home.

“Getting back to Adelaide was important to me as my supportive friends are here,” Allan said.

“The purchase of the additional monitor by Flinders Foundation enabled me to return to Adelaide and allowed for much emotional and physical healing in a familiar, personally supportive environment.”

And while Allan waits to be considered for a heart transplant, he’s enjoying new-found strength and energy following his implant.

“A friend and I recently did a three-kilometre beach walk without having to stop to catch my breath, compared to before the implant, when I would have to stop every 40 metres or so.”

Thank you so much for your support which is life-changing for people like Allan