Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

I plug myself in every night just to stay alive

Jim is UK’S youngest patient with mechanical heart pump

- BY MARTIN FRICKER

A 22-year-old man who is the youngest person to be fitted with a mechanical heart pump has to plug himself in every night to stay alive.

Jim Lynskey, was left with dilated cardiomyop­athy, which enlarges the heart, after he and his twin sister,

Grace, caught viral meningitis at two weeks old.

As a youth, he had a fast heart rate and two cardiac arrests. In 2015, he became the youngest of around 100 people in the UK to be fitted with a ventricula­r assist device, to keep the left side of his heart pumping while he awaits a heart transplant.

Jim, of Redditch, Worcs, recharges the device with a wire from a hole in his stomach. He said: “I have to plug myself into the mains at night whilst another machine charges the batteries. If the power does cut out, a back-up device will kick in for 15 minutes, giving me time to switch to batteries.”

Jim has to carry two battery packs, each lasting around eight hours, a small computer, and spare equipment with him at all times. An alarm will sound if his pump fails. He said: “I avoid staying anywhere else overnight as it means taking all the equipment with me.” Jim’s pump failed last year, and was replaced at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, in October. He now aims to finish his food and consumer management degree while he waits for a new heart. Jim, who is urging people to become donors, said: “It’s a tragic waste when three people are dying every day because they can’t be matched with a donor.”

 ??  ?? LIFESAVER Jim with his batteries & equipment VIRUS In hospital as a tot SURGERY Pump is hooked up
LIFESAVER Jim with his batteries & equipment VIRUS In hospital as a tot SURGERY Pump is hooked up
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