What is Life Like Living with an ICD Implant? 4 Years Later

For about four years now, I have been living with an ICD implant, which I received at 28 years old after surviving a sudden cardiac arrest. As a young person, I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and I hope this video, containing all the advice and tips I’ve gathered over the years, can be useful to you.

ℹ️ RESOURCES ℹ️

Episodes mentioned:

In-Depth Q&A About ICDs: Former Medtronic Employee, Douglas Rachac⁠    • In-Depth Q&A About ICDs: Former Medtr...  
Mental Care for ICD Carriers and Cardiac Arrest Survivors | Dr. Samuel Sears⁠    • (Q&A) Mental Care for ICD Carriers an...  
Psychologist Dr. Samuel Sears: Mental Health Challenges of Cardiac Arrest Survivors⁠
   • (Q&A) Psychologist Dr. Samuel Sears: ...  

Products mentioned:

Vital Beat⁠ (This is the company I mentioned that offers t-shirts with protective shields for medical device carriers, such as ICDs, S-ICDs, etc.) https://www.vitalbeat.com/

Support groups:

Cardiac Comeback Crew⁠ (Every month, at The Heart Warrior Project, we organize two online meetups that are completely free for cardiac arrest survivors. If you are a survivor, check out the info page and join us if you'd like to meet more survivors.) https://heartwarriorproject.com/onlin...
⁠Living with an ICD (Support Group)⁠ (Facebook group)⁠   / 18898659312  
Defibrillator, Pacemaker, and ICD Implant Support Group⁠ (Facebook group)   / 248532071949428⁠  
PacemakerICD ⁠(Reddit group)   / pacemakericd  
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🧡Get Involved - Support The Heart Warrior Project🧡

Note that The Heart Warrior Project is run by one guy, which is yes, me (Jellis Vaes).

In between work, studies at university, and just life, I try to squeeze in some time almost every day to work on this project. This project takes a lot of work, as I genuinely want to deliver high-quality and helpful content for survivors here. And I do it with a lot of love every day.

However, help is always appreciated. If you have found any insights, lessons, or support from this or any other episode, and you’d like to support the project, we have a couple of ways to do so.

We offer some ⁠⁠awesome-looking merch⁠⁠, such as T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs, with different designs that I personally love wearing/using myself.
If you aren’t interested in any merch but still want to support the project, we also ⁠⁠accept donations⁠⁠.

You can find more information here:⁠⁠ https://heartwarriorproject.com/getin...
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Timestamps

Why I Received an ICD 00:00 - 02:01
It's Harder as a Young Person 02:01 - 04:35
Have a Support System (The Three Pillars of Support) 04:35 - 10:58
Rebuild Trust in Yourself 10:58 - 13:57
Look for Solutions to Continue Doing What You Love 13:57 - 20:20
Change the Story You're Telling Yourself 20:20 - 22:49
Receiving My First Shock 22:49 - 27:40
Which God Do You Believe In? 27:40 - 29:30
Final Words: Be Kind to Yourself 29:30 - 32:02
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#cardiacarrest #ICD #heartwarrior #hearthealth #cardiachealth #cardiacdeath