Michelle and Christopher's Story

My name is Michelle Tatro and my son, Christopher Lucarelli, is my hero because he is my caregiver. In 2016, I had a 2 massive heart attacks, a stroke, and pulmonary embolism; a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked by a blood clot. After the heart attacks, my heart was functioning at 20%. I was on heart meds and my kidneys were not functioning well. This was a tough year leading up to LVAD approval and surgery. During my rehabilitation, my son was trained to be my caregiver. He learned how the LVAD works, how to care for the batteries and controller, and how to do sterile dressing changes. I lived with my son for the first 2 years during the beginning of my heart failure journey. This allowed me to grow confident in living with the LVAD and eventually being able to take care of the maintenance myself. During those 2 years, my son would drive me to doctor’s appointments with my LVAD team. He sacrificed much during that time to take care of me. He gave his love, time, and effort and for this I couldn’t say thank you enough for how much he helped me. Because of what he did for me, I am living a good life with the LVAD and he will always be my heart hero.