Young woman shares unusual side effects of heart transplant from middle-aged man

A 22-year-old woman has turned to TikTok to reveal three unusual side effects following her heart transplant.

Cecilia-Joy Adamou (@scars.and.stuff) from Surrey has undergone a heart transplant, kidney transplant and suffered from brain cancer. She actively uses her platform to candidly speak about her journey to her 13,000 followers to “inspire and educate others.”

Cecilia told Indy100, “I want to spread the word about organ donation and educate people about how it works - because people are generally very under and misinformed,”

She hopes that spreading her message “will encourage people to talk about it and in turn, more people will decide to donate their organs so more people can receive their gifts of life – like [she] did!”

Titled “[Three] super weird things about my messed up body”, Cecilia revealed that people can see her heart beating through her chest and that “you can see it even more” in her stomach. “I think it’s because when they put the heart in me I was a tiny, malnourished 11-year-old girl, with a middle-aged man’s heart,” she explained.

She then goes on to share that “when [she] had brain surgery to remove her cancer, her hair never grew back, [her] hair just never grew back” and left a bald patch at the back of her head where she can “still feel the hole where they drilled into [her] skull, and feel [her] pulse through it.”

Finally, she explained how her feet “literally don’t move” after suffering from nerve damage.

People can see Cecilia’s heartbeat through her chest and stomach @scars.and.stuff/TikTok

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Born with a Atrioventricular Septal Defect with Left Atrial Isomerism, her condition meant that her heart chambers had holes in them. At just six months old and then aged two, she received life-changing surgery meaning that she could live a normal life for six years.

Much later in 2010, Cecilia had to receive a heart transplant from a middle-aged man, after her heart deteriorated, resulting in a cardiac arrest. “I had a heart from this entity, this figure, but I learnt his name, I learnt about his family. […] He liked collecting things which is weird because I always collected things, he collected stamps and when I was little, I collected dolls,” she said.

“My parents would come home every night not knowing if I would be alive the next morning. A couple of times, they got the call saying they had to come in, it’s near the end,” Cecilia said.

She then underwent a 12-hour surgery and another cardiac arrest that resorted to life support for three months. During this time, her mother donated a kidney after Cecilia suffered from kidney failure. She also received surgery on her feet due to nerve damage so she could walk again.

In 2014, Cecilia was diagnosed with two brain tumours and an additional two in her spine in relation to her transplant immunosuppressant medication, which are thankfully under control.

Cecilia’s bravery and courage prompted an influx of responses from across the world. One called her “an inspiration to all” who “still oozes positivity and still smiling”.

Another heartfelt response read: “My goodness, what a brave warrior you are. I pray that you live a long happy life and amuse your grandchildren with these party tricks.”