Can you image being strong and healthy, then one day and waking up with a little cough that turns out to be an infection that causes congestive heart failure? That’s what happened to Ruben Delgadillo, 41, of Yuma, Arizona. It changed everything four years ago, setting him up for the battle for his life.
“Before, I would be out playing baseball or bowling. I was a pretty strong guy,” comments Delgadillo, a Produce Manager for Food City in Yuma. “Then my heart got this infection and for four years it got worse. A few months ago I collapsed at work and have been in the hospital since.”
Delgadillo’s heart was failing fast and measures to keep his heart pumping were not enough. He was barely surviving on less than 10% flow of blood. “The doctor at Good Sam referred me to doctors at Mayo Clinic and that’s where they asked me if I wanted to go on this new pump. It was my best option.”
He became the state's first resident to receive the new technology, HeartMate II®, a battery powered pump implanted in his chest, to maintain a steady flow of oxygenated blood until heart transplant surgery could be performed. The pump gave him a normal blood flow, which allowed him to regain strength prior to the heart transplant.
“I started feeling better right away. There’s just a wire coming out of my side to a battery or electric outlet. It didn’t make any sound unless you listened with a stethoscope and then you hear a whirring sound,” he says with a grin. They were just about to release him from the hospital two weeks after the HeartMate II® was implanted, when the call came, they had his new heart on the way.
The transplant surgery August 12th (Scottsdale Mayo Clinic’s 14th since establishing the program last year) went well and only 5 weeks later Ruben Delgadillo is up and around. “I feel great!” he says. “The swelling has gone down and the natural color is returning to my face and legs. The only pain is where the incision is healing. It’s a little tender.”
This weekend he is feeling up to a family reunion in Yuma. “My brothers and sister and Mom will all be there. It will be good to see everyone,” he says with a big smile.
“I feel pretty good. I think I am healing ahead of schedule because I was so strong before. I start physical therapy next week and I’m looking forward to getting stronger.”
“The doctors at Mayo Clinic are the greatest. I was in three hospitals and the Mayo was the best. The doctors came to see me several times a day and were calling all the time to check on me.” But ask him about the food and he emphatically says, ”It was terrible! They gave me these little tiny pancakes. I lost 85 pounds!” He continues to lose weight as the heart healthy low sodium diet continues at home. “My sister Eva watches me real close to be sure I eat right.”
Taking care of his new heart and working toward returning to his life are his full time job for now. “It’s just good to be up and around again. I feel pretty good.”
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