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Sarita Harris is on a journey she never expected.

A mechanical heartbeat is her constant companion.

“It feels like a ton of bricks,” Harris said.

The weight of the pump that keeps her alive is but a fraction of the worries she carries everywhere.

Her journey began six years ago.

She was seven months pregnant and diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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“I thought that was the end of my life,” Harris said.

Chemotherapy forced the cancer into remission and weakened her heart.

Three years later, Harris found out she was expecting another baby and that the cancer was back.

Doctors told her to choose between her unborn child and more chemotherapy. 

“This was like a joy to me; it was like a miracle,” Harris said. “I said no I was going to have this baby.”

There was more chemo after that and another remission. There was also her heart, which teetering on complete failure.

“I was to the point every week I was in the emergency room I was so full of fluid so short of breath,” Harris said.

That’s when Dr. Matthias Loebe acted on a new option for cancer patients with heart problems: He implanted Harris with a mechanical heart pump.

She is the only known patient in the world on an LVAD and undergoing chemo.

“The best hope is that she can enjoy life and enjoy her children as long as possible and that she’s not limited by her cardiac disease,” Dr. Loebe.

Harris watches her boys with the bittersweet knowledge she ultimately will need a heart transplant.

The single mother can’t get on a waiting list until she’s cancer free for five years.

Since the LVAD was implanted, Harris’ heart has shown signs of improving. Her biggest battle now is to force the cancer back into remission.

With her third round of chemo now underway, she Harris still has hope.

“I’m fighting so hard because of my kids,” Harris said.