{"id":13435,"date":"2026-02-26T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=13435"},"modified":"2026-03-04T21:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:33:44","slug":"im-a-human-tesla-i-charge-a-battery-every-night-to-keep-myself-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/im-a-human-tesla-i-charge-a-battery-every-night-to-keep-myself-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a human Tesla \u2013 I charge a battery every night to keep myself alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Liam was just 24 when he went into heart failure without any warning (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After four gruelling months in hospital, Liam Pearce was finally ready to return home, but his health<\/a> journey was far from over.<\/p>\n

Grasping a zimmer frame, the 27-year-old knew he faced a future filled with hurdles – learning to walk again<\/a> was just one of many. Consumed with anxiety<\/a>, he couldn’t help but feel scared of what his life would look like, now that he had been diagnosed with end stage heart failure<\/a> and fitted with a portable life support machine.<\/p>\n

The life-saving device, called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), is a battery-powered machine that sits on the outside of the body but is attached internally to the heart and helps pump blood when the heart is too weak<\/a> to do it alone. <\/p>\n

Liam is one of just 324 in the UK living with an LVAD, which are most commonly used by those waiting for a heart transplant<\/a> – but he has since shed his anxiety and refuses to let it hold him back. <\/p>\n

Today, he skis, runs, hits the gym, and owns a vintage men\u2019s fashion business. In fact, Liam is so happy with life, that he\u2019s yet to join the transplant waitlist.<\/p>\n

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Liam is one of just 324 in the UK living with an LVAD (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, such an active lifestyle was not always certain, especially after Liam suddenly fell ill in July 2023. One moment, he was re-doing his friend\u2019s kitchen, the next, he could hardly move.<\/p>\n

\u2018I started noticing a shortness of breath.\u2019 he tells the Metro<\/strong>. \u2018Then after two weeks, I had extreme fatigue, painful burning in my muscles, and walking 30 metres felt like running a marathon.\u2019<\/p>\n

Liam was just 24 at the time, and his mum Paula – a nurse of 40 years – knew something was wrong<\/a>. She was supposed to go to France with the family, but booked her son into the GP instead. Liam calls it her \u2018nurse and mother\u2019s instinct<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

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@liamgpearce<\/a> <\/p>\n

An average day on life support. LVAD – Day 758. The batteries literally keep me going. If they stop, I stop. #LVAD<\/a> #heartfailure<\/a> #lifesupport<\/a> #lifestyle<\/a> #fyp<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c Cochise X Playboi Carti Beat – Staysee<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The morning after some blood tests at his local doctor\u2019s surgery, Royal Surrey<\/a> County Hospital urged Liam to come in for further checks.<\/p>\n

\u2018When I got there, I was in a really bad state and my body just gave up,’ he remembers. \u2018I think my subconscious knew I was finally somewhere safe, and when I walked through the doors, I mentally and physically shut down.<\/p>\n

\u2018When you go into A&E, you\u2019re hoping to be there for a night at most. I didn’t come home for over four months,’ he adds.<\/p>\n

Tests discovered Liam was in multi-organ and heart failure – a total shock for the man in his twenties who had never suffered from physical health issues before.<\/p>\n

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Liam spent months in hospital (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He was kept stable overnight in Surrey before being moved to St. Thomas\u2019 in London<\/a>, where he satyed for four days, before moving to Harefield Hospital in Uxbridge.<\/p>\n

While his family were distraught, it was all \u2018blurry\u2019 for Liam, who can only remember everything from notes that help him piece everything together. \u2018I\u2019ve got certain memories, like my MRI. But when you\u2019re ill, your mind is bad at taking things in because you are so drained,’ he explains. \u2018It was very overwhelming, realising you are in critical condition.\u2019<\/p>\n

While in hospital, Liam managed to overcome sepsis and an induced coma, as well as celebrate his 25th birthday.<\/p>\n

And his gratitude to the staff knows no bounds – no matter how \u2018dreadful and bleak\u2019 his situation was, such as the discovery that his heart medication wasn’t working, they strived to provided solutions.<\/p>\n

One was the \u2018T-word\u2019: transplant. However, Liam wasn’t deemed a suitable candidate as he needed to both lose weight and get stronger, so was offered the LVAD – something neither he nor his mum knew existed. <\/p>\n

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@liamgpearce<\/a> <\/p>\n

The question I\u2019ve been asked the most! How do you shower whilst being attatched to batteries permanently. Life with an LVAD life support. \ud83e\udec0\ud83d\udd0c\ud83d\udebf\u26a1\ufe0f #LVAD<\/a> #heartfailure<\/a> #fyp<\/a> #viral<\/a> #shower<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – Liam Pearce<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u2018My mum had worked in an ICU for 15 years, and she had never heard of it.\u2019 Liam explains. \u2018I spoke to a patient who had an LVAD at the time, and it was reassuring to see he looked well. But I would never have imagined that the things I am able to do now would be possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since leaving the hospital in November 2023 and getting to grips with his life-saving machine, Liam has been intent on pushing himself \u2018to the limits\u2019, giving talks at Harefield Hospital and making socia media videos about what life is like with an LVAD.<\/p>\n

Getting to this point was far from easy though, he admits.<\/p>\n

Liam explains: \u2018Learning to live with the device while you\u2019re really weak is hard. It was scary, and I was afraid of my mental health<\/a> deteriorating. To me, that\u2019s scarier than physical health, because it\u2019s not as simple as tweaking medication.<\/p>\n

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Liam has been intent on pushing himself \u2018to the limits\u2019 since being fitted with his LAVD (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Liam knew he had to lose weight and get fit to be a transplant candidate (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It wasn\u2019t until I was back on my feet, got in touch with an outreach physio, and started going to the gym that things started to look more positive.<\/p>\n

\u2018I had to ease back into it – I had my chest opened up, so I was nervous, wondering how securely they\u2019d attached it back together.\u2019<\/p>\n

Laughing, Liam explains that humour has also been hugely helpful in his LVAD journey, and he\u2019s not held back – a TikTok<\/a> of his brother pretending to unplug his life support to charge his phone<\/a> has 49.6k views.<\/p>\n

He says: \u2018It\u2019s a life changing and dramatic thing, but being able to not take it too seriously is massive.\u2019<\/p>\n

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@liamgpearce<\/a> <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve gotta charge when you gotta charge \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f Priorities \ud83e\udd23 #LVAD<\/a> #heartfailure<\/a> #fyp<\/a> #viral<\/a> #charger<\/a> @Sean\u20acPearce <\/p>\n

\u266c son original – AmirDZ<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Despite the jokes, calling himself a \u2018human Tesla\u2019 and his battery dock a \u2018toaster\u2019, Liam really does plug himself in overnight, as well as carry a backpack with the machine 24\/7 – it reaches his heart through a wire in his abdomen.<\/p>\n

\u2018There was lots of paranoia to begin with,\u2019 he admits. \u2018But I\u2019ve learnt to trust the device. It really has become a part of me.\u2019<\/p>\n

And with these physical changes has come a shift in his outlook on life, too.<\/p>\n

\u2018In my first two years of recovery, I needed to rebuild myself and my confidence,’ says Liam. \u2018But I\u2019ve started thinking about dating in the last three months, because this has shown me how fragile life is. It made me realise I don\u2019t want to be alone.<\/p>\n

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‘I\u2019ve learnt to trust the device. It really has become a part of me,’ says Liam (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Waiting for a transplant does complicate things, but outside of that, relationships are very normal, and an LVAD shouldn\u2019t be a reason not to date.\u2019<\/p>\n

And for Liam, his portable life support machine is never a reason to miss out on anything. Currently, he\u2019s down 60kg, runs, has just returned from skiing (where he took a few harmless tumbles, judging by his TikToks), and successfully sells vintage men’s clothes online.<\/p>\n

\u2018Over the past two years, I\u2019ve gone from the weakest I\u2019ve ever been, to the strongest and fittest I\u2019ve ever been,\u2019 he says. \u2018People sometimes forget I am actually very unwell, which is a good thing. I even forget how severe things are myself.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, his journey is far from over. He still visits the hospital every two months, and while he\u2019s happy and fit, he does plan to go on the heart transplant waiting list next month – and with another open heart surgery comes another year of physical recovery.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m putting off the transplant because I\u2019m enjoying life,\u2019 he explains. \u2018But right now, there\u2019s only so much I can plan for the future. <\/p>\n

‘Once that\u2019s done, and there\u2019s not another major surgery coming up, the real future can start.\u2019<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\tComment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liam was just 24 when he went into heart failure without any warning (Picture: Supplied) After four gruelling months in hospital, Liam Pearce was finally ready to return home, but his health journey was far from over. Grasping a zimmer frame, the 27-year-old knew he faced a future filled with hurdles – learning to walk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13435"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13435"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13444,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13435\/revisions\/13444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}