Olympic bobsledder calls mechanical heart a “Christmas gift” after organ failure

Olympic bobsledder Ralph Pichler, 69, is counting his blessings this Christmas, having triumphed over a harrowing battle with heart failure a little over two years ago.

Pichler, a two-time world champion bobsledder, was diagnosed with heart failure in December 2021 during a visit to the University Health Network’s (UHN) Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in Toronto. At the time he was given two options: palliative care or a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), also known as a mechanical heart.

Pichler opted for the latter, telling Global News that his organs were shutting down and was told he had little time left to live. Remarkably, just 12 days after his surgery on Dec. 10, 2021, he was back home recovering with his loved ones.

Now, two years later, as this holiday season unfolds, Pichler finds himself surrounded by the warmth of family, a new granddaughter named Emma, and the gentle hum of the mechanical heart that became his lifeline.

As Global’s Katherine Ward explains, the doctors who saved his life hope they can find ways to make the technology he uses even more efficient.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/10181759/olympic-bobsledder-mechanical-heart-christmas/

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