American Heart Association

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Heart failure cost 25-year-old Alyssa Reader three limbs. But it didn’t take her strength or her hope.

In the hospital with both sides of her heart failing, doctors said she had about a 10% chance of survival. They tried ECMO, a form of temporary life support that circulates the blood, to allow her heart to heal. A week later, her heart was beating strong.

Then came the startling discovery that blood wasn’t flowing through Alyssa’s legs or right arm. To live, she needed her legs and right arm amputated. In and out of consciousness, Alyssa told her mom, Natalie, that yes, she wanted everything possible done to save her life.

The surgery went according to plan. After a month in the intensive care unit, Alyssa started physical rehabilitation. She received prosthetics. Six months after she was first rushed to the ER – Alyssa moved into an accessible room in her parents’ home.

As a triple amputee in heart failure, her progress has been slow. She gets fatigued easily as she builds her muscle strength up from zero while re-learning balance and endurance.

“Alyssa has a lot of grace,” Natalie said. “Something like this can make you super bitter against the world. But Alyssa doesn’t sit in a corner kicking and screaming and saying ‘Why me?’ It’s, ‘These are the cards I was dealt, and we move on.’”

Now 27, Alyssa’s goal is to live independently and to drive. Seeing other amputees on social media living on their own and enjoying hobbies like hiking makes her think she can, too.

“Everybody rooting for me has helped me to be in a positive space,” Alyssa said. “As traumatic as everything was, I’m so lucky and blessed to be alive so I can keep creating memories with my family and friends. I wouldn’t have survived this without them. I truly feel like I made it for a reason.”