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Daniel Phan was in heart failure and days from undergoing lifesaving surgery when he and his girlfriend, Julia, decided to get married \u2014 in the ICU.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Daniel and Julia Phan met when they were kids after Daniel\u2019s parents hired Julia\u2019s mom to work at their nail salon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe were the same age. I went to her house when I was, like, eight years old, not knowing she was going to be my future wife,\u201d Daniel told Healthline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While the two drifted apart for several years, they reconnected on Facebook after college in 2014, but it wasn\u2019t until 2023, when they were both in their early 30s, that they began dating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI reached out because I saw [on Facebook] that she was at a concert and I love concerts, so I asked her if she wanted to go to a concert with me,\u201d said Daniel. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how it started.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
About a year into dating, the couple discussed marriage; however, their path to tying the knot took a turn when Daniel became ill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
When Daniel was 11 years old, he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic heart disease in which the heart muscle becomes too thick, making it harder to pump blood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Daniel\u2019s older sister also has the condition, and their mom carried the genetic mutation that causes HCM.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Shortly after his diagnosis, he got a pacemaker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI was excluded from many activities like sports,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a very sad, traumatic time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Playing guitar and drums became his outlet, and he went through high school without any major health incidents. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
However, in his early 20s, he had a few occurrences where he over-exerted himself exercising, causing him to pass out and end up in the emergency room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Then in 2024, he began having arrhythmias without exerting himself. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On January 15, 2025, he was sitting on his couch watching TV and experienced an intense arrhythmia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt was the worst one. I was super dizzy, threw up everywhere, my heart wouldn\u2019t calm down\u2026so I called 911, and they showed up, and I ended up in the ER for a week in Gainesville Northeast Georgia,\u201d said Daniel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Because Daniel was in heart failure, he was transferred to Piedmont Heart in Atlanta, where he originally hoped to receive a heart transplant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n Circumstances didn\u2019t allow Daniel to receive a heart transplant, and he ended up getting a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n LVADs are recommended when patients have heart failure that has become refractory to medical therapy, said Sagar Damle,<\/a> MD, cardiothoracic surgeon at Piedmont Heart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIn this situation, the heart is too weak to adequately pump blood to the entire body, and patients have worsening heart failure. They usually have significant symptoms, such as shortness of breath with activity, fatigue, and tiredness,\u201d he told Healthline. \u201cWhen medications are no longer effective, LVADs, and sometimes transplant, are the next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The LVAD works like a water pump, taking blood from the left ventricle and sending it to the body through the aorta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIn a nutshell, it effectively functions as the patient\u2019s own left ventricle,\u201d said Damle. \u201cSince most patients who have heart failure have predominantly left ventricular failure, LVADs work very well in that scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Before undergoing the LVAD surgery, Daniel felt compelled to ask Julia to marry him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhile I was in the hospital, I said, \u2018Do you want to marry me?\u2019 She was there every day. It was a huge commitment for her, and we already knew we wanted to be married,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe handed me his mother\u2019s ring, and it fits perfectly,\u201d she told Healthline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The next day, on January 29, 2025, the couple married in the ICU, with their uncle officiating and some of their closest family members and friends in attendance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe had like 12 or 13 people surrounding Daniel\u2019s bed and around the machines too,\u201d said Julia. \u201cWe always joke about how our wedding costs the most, surrounded by expensive machines.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The next day, Julia hustled to the courthouse to get their marriage license and make it official. This meant Daniel could get coverage for the LVAD surgery under Julia\u2019s insurance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTime was ticking. Daniel was on life support, and the doctors were telling us, \u2018the longer you are on life support, the worse you\u2019re going to get,\u2019 and we had to come to a decision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Recovery was tough for Daniel at first. Being on life support required an extra surgery to repair a damaged vein.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was super fatigued, still recovering, I could barely walk to my driveway without being out of breath,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Several months of physical therapy got him back to feeling about 80-85% better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cGoing up the stairs before the LVAD, I\u2019d need to stop and take a breath,\u201d said Daniel. \u201cNow I can go upstairs, and I\u2019m a little tired, but I\u2019m confident because I can see the numbers on LVAD, and I know I\u2019m good. If anything happens, I know the LVAD is doing its job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He leaves the option open for a heart transplant in the future, but for now, he believes in his recovery and the LVAD.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWho knows, five years from now, the LVAD technology could be even more advanced,\u201d said Daniel. \u201c[Hopefully] my heart recovers; it\u2019s really rare, but that\u2019s what I believe in. I believe in God, and I\u2019ve seen miracles happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Damle said LVADs are often used in patients who are too sick to undergo a transplant, or in some patients who may have a contraindication or exclusion to a transplant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey can stay on LVAD support for many years if needed to improve their candidacy for transplant,\u201d said Damle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today, Daniel and Julia are living life to the fullest, given their circumstances. They hope to start a family soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m just really glad that he\u2019s on his feet and he hasn\u2019t had any bad symptoms or any episodes,\u201d said Julia. \u201cIt\u2019s been over a year now that he\u2019s had his LVAD, and we\u2019ve actually really managed life. Life looks different, but I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel said he wouldn\u2019t be where he is without Julia\u2019s support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cShe\u2019s done everything for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Julia said that the challenges they\u2019ve faced together have \u201cmade life more meaningful,\u201d and she\u2019s even begun helping others going through similar experiences as a part of Abbott\u2019s Care Partner Ambassador Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI love the wording of care partner because\u2026I was trying to be a wife and a caregiver,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing able to listen to other people\u2019s stories and knowing that these people aren\u2019t just caregivers, they are very meaningful in patients\u2019 lives, is [rewarding].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n