The wait for a new heart lasted 14 days for a resident of Blumenau, in the Itajai Valley. Ediele Vieira Cardoso, 30, was diagnosed with severe heart failure in 2012, the same disease that led to Faustau’s hospitalization.
Ediel’s cardiac surgeon, Dr. Frederico G. Di Giovanni, explained that the patient was first referred for evaluation to determine whether or not a heart transplant was necessary about 10 years ago.
“At that time, we diagnosed a disease called idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump and therefore grows disproportionately in size to its normal size.”
The patient underwent clinical treatment and, despite the severity of the disease and physical limitations, she managed to maintain a stable life. “A few years later, we implanted an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in the left chest to prevent sudden death. She continued with her life despite the odds of complications and was pregnant, which left our entire heart transplant medical team on edge. But she wanted a child, and everyone worked to ensure that this desire for motherhood came to an end. And it was a success,” said the doctor.
The decision to transplant was made recently, in June. The heart surgeon noted that with a significant deterioration in the clinical condition and the lack of response to all possible medications, the procedure for placing Ediel on the waiting list was started.
Registration on the waiting list of the State Transplant Center was completed on August 11, 2023.
“At first I thought I was calm, that I could continue like this for a little longer because I could do my own thing. But in the last few months I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. I couldn’t do basic routine things. I went to get ready, knowing that my heart would arrive soon and it wouldn’t take much time,” the patient said.
A new heart beats in my chest
And it didn’t take long. On August 25, a new heart was already beating in Ediel’s chest. The transplant operation took place at the Santa Isabel de Blumenau Hospital, an institution that is a national reference in the field of organ transplantation.
From 1980 to August 2023, the hospital department performed 2,195 kidney transplants, 191 corneal transplants, 75 heart surgeries, 1,713 liver surgeries and 144 pancreas and pancreas-kidney transplants.
Santa Isabel Hospital, Blumenau – Photo: HSI/Disclosure/NDIn recovery from a seizure induced by heart rejection medication on September 11, Ediel is progressing and is due to be discharged this week.
“The team is incredible. There is nothing to complain about on the part of the doctors or nurses. Santa Catarina should be congratulated for the Santa Isabel Hospital,” said the patient.
How does organ donation work?
September is Organ Donation Month, and the Santa Isabel Hospital alone has performed more than 4,300 procedures thanks to the solidarity of organ donation families.
Donation can occur in two ways. With permission from the family of a patient diagnosed with brain death or donation from living patients.
In the second case, the procedure is allowed only with relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship or with the recipient’s spouse. In cases where there is no relationship – only with the permission of the court.
An opportunity to save lives, organ donation can benefit many people by giving patients on the waiting list a new chance. And this is exactly how Ediel sees the new opportunity and is grateful for it.
“I look at it as saving lives, a new birth. A new chance to live in a way I couldn’t before. God gives us the opportunity. I just have to thank the family who made a donation to save a man they don’t even know.”
Source: Ndmais
