A fitness fanatic was forced to have a mechanical heart fitted after he suffered heart failure at just 19.
Greg Marshall, now 21, from Oxford, was excited to join the Royal Marines before he developed a 'chest infection' in November 2016.
After being prescribed antibiotics and an inhaler, Mr Marshall collapsed in a car park the following month. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with severe heart failure.
Mr Marshall, who used to work as a model, was fitted with a pacemaker on October 25 last year. This failed just three weeks later and had to be replaced.
Just as things seemed to be on the up, Mr Marshall's condition deteriorated in March and he was put on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
But fearing his condition was too severe for him to wait for a donor organ, doctors fitted him in June with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), often referred to as being a mechanical heart.
Greg Marshall was forced to have a mechanical heart fitted after he developed heart failure at just 21. Pictured before the ordeal, he was looking forward to following in his late father's footsteps by joining the Royal Marines. He is now virtually bedbound
Mr Marshall has been in and out of hospital for three years after his condition repeatedly caused him to collapse. He was fitted with a pacemaker on October 25 last year, which failed three weeks later and had to be replaced. He was then put on a transplant waiting list
Speaking of her son's condition, Tessa Marshall, 49, said: 'He was a fit and healthy young man, he'd never even broken a bone and had never been ill before.
'The odds are I'm going to outlive him, which is really hard to deal with, but hopefully his new heart will make a difference.
'The speed in which this has happened has been horrendous.'
Keen to follow in his late father's footsteps, Mr Marshall underwent tough interviews and medical tests in order to join the Marines in October 2016, his mother wrote on his GoFundMe page.
Mr Marshall surprised everyone when his health suddenly deteriorated, which doctors initially dismissed as a chest infection or asthma.
It was not until he collapsed that medics realised how serious the situation was.
'He had had a "chest infection" and couldn't clear it,' Mrs Marshall said. 'The doctor gave him an inhaler and said he had asthma.
'Then one day he went to Halfords and collapsed in the car park.'
Mr Marshall was rushed to hospital, where he received the devastating diagnosis.
'The hospital called and said he had heart failure, it was complete and utter disbelief,' Mrs Marshall said. 'Since then it's been a whirlwind.'
The diagnosis was particularly hard for his family to take after they lost Mr Marshall's father Greg to a heart attack in June 2015.
The family were screened to determine their risk of heart failure or an attack, with all the tests coming back clear.
Mr Marshall's diagnosis was not even found to be linked to his father's condition. He now suffers from shortness of breath and fatigue.
Mr Marshall was fitted with an LVAD on June 4 this year. This acts as an artificial heart pump. One end of the pump is attached to the left ventricle, which pumps blood into a large artery called the aorta, where it flows to the rest of the body. A fine cable connects the LVAD inside the body to a controller on the outside. The controller senses how the LVAD is functioning and controls its power. A
