Brian Harries, 42, father of five, has been suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition which weakens the heart and interferes with pumping of the blood to different parts of the body.
Brian's father, Gerry, had also been diagnosed with the same condition, but Brain got the shock of his life when he discovered that his children were at a 50 percent risk of getting affected by this condition.
To get things clear, Brian and his wife Sarah decided to get their kids checked for dilated cardiomyopathy, and unfortunately, four of them were diagnosed with the condition.
Brian, who previously worked in a steel company, now lives on a mechanical heart, and is expecting a transplant. His kids, however, may need to face a lifetime of medication to avoid suffering from the same fate as their father.
"If we'd known what I had was hereditary - if somebody had explained it to us - we would probably have stopped at one kid," Brian said. "When we were told that there was a 50/50 chance that the kids would have it I thought maybe one or two would - we never imagined all the boys would have it. Taking them up to the hospital for the tests, it was horrible."
Brian was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in the year 2000. However, it was when he suffered two heart attacks in 2006, that the medics diagnosed him for dilated cardiomyopathy.
Following the diagnosis, Brian was forced to quit his job, and live with a tiny machine under his skin, which would send tiny electric shocks to the heart if it started breathing arhythmically.
It was at his birthday party in the year 2011 that Brian suffered from 13 heart attacks in a span of just 2 days. Also, there was a time when his heart stopped beating completely for around 45 minutes, and the doctors had to reconsider about starting the treatment.
"Some days it's good, some days I can't get up the stairs without getting really tired. But now I guess I have put myself on the back burner and just think about the kids," he said. "Now they are all on medication we just hope it is a long long time before it affects them."
