Watch myheart member, Joseph Tanner, talk about his experience of having an ICD implanted.

Hi, my name is Joseph tanner. I was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome in 2008 and I was told that I was going to have an ICD implanted. And at first thought I was really scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. And on the day of the surgery, it was one of the most scariest days of my life because you even have to sign a form to say that you, you know, understand the risks of what’s going to happen during the operation- even though the percentage of dying during an operation is very, very low, it’s still a scary thing to take in. And, you know, after you get diagnosed with a condition it’s… well, you’re having that happen and then having to have the operation. It’s all a scary time. But once after I had my operation, it took six weeks to fully recover. It did take a bit of time to get used to it. It took me a long time to get back into fitness and back into training, but I learnt to love my ICD, knowing it’s there to protect me and save me if anything happens. It might be scary at first, but it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning.