Living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: The Road to Resilience

Abstract

This chapter recounts the story of my brother Valerio, a carrier of Brugada syndrome, and his experience with the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). My name is Serena, I am a 25 year old psychologist, and with the present contribution I would like to give the reader an idea of what it means to face, from both my personal point of view and, indirectly, though my brother’s words, the diagnosis of a genetic disease that makes ICD implantation necessary to survive. Specifically, I would like to try to explain how the implantation of the device affects the individual’s life, relationships, and even parenting; but also how a person can successfully learn to live with a defibrillator, seeing the ICD as an important resource.