Andrew “AJ” Jones, a professional fitness model from Farmington,America Connecticut was diagnosed in 2012 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle thickens without an obvious cause.
He needed a transplant but since he had to be on a waiting list, Jones received a left ventricular assist device, a mechanical pump that transports blood from the lower heart chamber throughout the body as a healthy heart would.
Jones didn’t have a pulse and a working heart describing himself as “I’m pretty much the best looking zombie you’ll ever see.”
Jones relies on an artificial heart, he is constantly connected to two batteries and a computer that he carries in a backpack wherever he goes.
“I always have to have batteries charging,” he notes in an earlier video adding “At night, when I’m going to bed, I’ll plug my phone in, and then I’ll plug myself in.”
Although not having a self-functioning heart, Jones continued to do his press-ups and other gym routines even in his hospital ward with gadgets attached to him.
Jones has founded his own organization, Hearts At Large, to raise awareness for the need of donors and create a network for those in need of donations and in association with United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
Jones found a matching donor and underwent a heart transplant three years ago.
