Heart on the palms of your hands
The woman took a photo for memory with her own heart in her hands
Vasily Borisov, FederalPost
In this photo, which has traveled all over the world, a patient named Penny holds her old heart in her hands after a successful transplant. She's wearing a mask, but you can see that the girl is smiling.
I posted this photo on the website imgur.com her friend Kelsey. She captioned the picture: "This is my friend Penny. She holds her heart. She survived cancer and heart failure, but never lost hope. She's my hero."
The photo taken at the hospital where the transplant operation was performed has already received more than 300,000 views. Penny's new heart successfully performs all its proper functions, Kelsey said. Doctors allowed the girl to pose with her old heart before the organ was to be cremated. She first asked the surgeons to give it to her as a keepsake, Kelsey shared with the media, but they refused. "The doctors did not allow her to take her heart home to save it. I would have done the same in their place. He needs to be cremated, but the ashes can also be taken as a keepsake."
About 3,500 heart transplants are performed annually in the world. To date, there are 207 people in the UK waiting for a new heart. Over the past two years, 139 patients have received a chance for a second life, but 26 died without waiting for the cherished organ.
Under Penny's photo, users imgur.com leave and leave comments. For example, one of them under the nickname philtaz wrote: "It's a pretty rare opportunity to hold... your own heart in your hands. Hats off to the surgeons who performed the operation." Another user – marie197408 – commented on the picture: "Keep it up! Penny, I wish you all the best and THANK YOU three times to the donor and his family."
User lukecampbell added: "This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life. It's very touching."
(In fact, on the same site there is, if not more incredible, then certainly more shocking photo of a guy with a heart in his hand, without a mask and with a scar all over his chest. It is not recommended for the faint of heart to click on this link – VM.)
Penny's heart, like many other organs for other patients, was obtained from a recently deceased donor. According to the rules, the girl had to go to the transfer center as soon as she was called. A new heart is transplanted within four hours after it has been removed from the donor's body. During a heart transplant, blood circulation occurs with the help of a special device to which the patient is connected. Transplantation usually takes three to five hours. Most patients spend two more weeks in the hospital after surgery under the supervision of doctors.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.01.2013