Living with Brugada Syndrome: Michael Grivas’ Story
My name is Michael Grivas, and here’s my story.
I am 27 years old and I come from Greece. Four years ago, my life suddenly changed when I learned that I have Brugada Syndrome. I felt like the ground was slipping away beneath my feet.
In 2021, I was hospitalized with acute myocarditis and Brugada type 1 ECG, during a time that was already very difficult for everyone because of COVID-19. It was a period when I couldn’t see my parents and friends regularly. I was alone in the hospital for three consecutive months, and the anxiety was enormous. For me, but also for my parents.
Brugada is insidious, especially for someone my age. It tends to “hide” in the ECG. It often looks normal, but it isn’t. And with the myocarditis I had at the same time, it was even harder to get a correct diagnosis. The doctors didn’t know whether the findings were due to Brugada or to myocarditis.
After my hospitalization, and after I suffered a fainting episode, it was finally decided that I should be implanted with a defibrillator (ICD). When it happened, I felt like life was given back to me. Honestly, it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
Brugada is not just a medical term. It is fear. Uncertainty. Limitations. I learned to find strength in small moments: in a chat with friends, in a look that calms me, in a smile that makes my day better. My family and friends stood like lighthouses. Seriously, without them, I don’t know what would have happened.
In Greece, for an ICD to be approved, you must have already suffered a cardiac arrest. This leaves many people exposed. Some show warning signs but aren’t saved in time. Others who suffered an episode didn’t make it.
And that is exactly when the idea for the Hippocrates AI Assistant Project was born, an artificial intelligence platform that can provide accurate and timely diagnosis of heart conditions. I want to help doctors make the right decisions, and at a fast pace. To save lives. And to reduce mistakes. The most important thing for me? I don’t ever want anyone else to go through what I went through. That is my goal.
When everything seems lost, there is always a road ahead. Hope can be born out of fear. Strength can be born out of difficulties. Every day is a chance to continue, to dream, and to move forward.
Don’t let hardships break you. Life can always give you a second chance. And believe me, it’s worth seizing.
