A while back, I wrote this post about a new assist device that was being researched, the Synergy Micro-blood pump.  Today, on the CCF email listserv someone posted this news story about a teen who has been given a new sense of freedom while he awaits a transplant.  This device, the HeartMate xVE, is the first one offering patients the chance to GO HOME while awaiting a transplant!  This is truly a miracle for those who could only look forward to sitting in a hospital bed with a large, cumbersome device to drag around with them if they were to go anywhere in the hospital.  And the fact that these devices could last up to a decade is amazing!  In 2003, 450 people died (out of 2000 on the waiting list) died while awaiting a heart.  These devices can provide an extension that offers both quantity of time and quality of life.  That is an amazing gift!