电子游戏帮助心脏病幸存者与LGBTQ社区的其他人建立联系

迈克·莱恩的心脏之旅始于他刚出生时，那时他的皮肤变蓝了.

He was 2 days old when a cardiologist realized the reason. He was born with several congenital heart defects, including a missing ventricular septum, a narrowing of the pulmonary artery called stenosis, and a faulty pulmonary artery valve. In the coming weeks and months, 即使是最微不足道的活动也让他筋疲力尽，“我们试图让他保持冷静。, so he wouldn't cry," said his grandmother, Norma Lane, a nurse.

10个月后，医生打开他的胸腔，试图修复缺陷. They were unable to repair all of them.

Throughout his early years, the problems continued to sap Mike's energy, making it tough for him to keep up with his peers. This led to trouble bonding with kids his age.

“每个人都看着我，好像他们会染上我的慢性病，”他说.

有一天，迈克注意到他的祖父胸前有一道伤疤，就像迈克一样. 他祖父的伤疤来自于心脏病发作后的心脏直视手术. While they never really talked about it, 知道他和他爱的人有共同之处，让迈克感觉不那么孤单了.

迈克12岁的时候，医生说是时候再次尝试更换有问题的瓣膜了. The day of surgery, he sobbed hysterically.

"I really didn't know if I was going to wake up," he said.

This time, doctors were able to give him the new valve. And in doing so, they gave him a new life.

More energetic than ever, he attended the Edward J. Madden Open Hearts Camp in the Berkshire mountains. 他说，遇到像他这样的孩子“是我一生中最美好的经历之一”.

Why?

“这是第一次，我不是一个人，”住在波士顿地区的迈克说.

He was 20 when his doctor told him it was time for a new valve. After the trauma of his two previous open-heart surgeries, 他松了一口气，通过无创导管插入术进行了更换.

After Mike recovered, he decided to get serious about video gaming.

During the years when Mike lacked energy to keep up with his peers, 他表示，游戏“让我忘却了不断感受到的痛苦和疲惫."

At 22, he began posting videos of himself playing on YouTube. He later began livestreaming on Twitch. 使用Supercaliy这个名字，他有近12000名粉丝，在世界各地都有朋友.

"I started building community," he said. It's also become how he pays the bills. "People like supporting content creators that they enjoy watching."

Some gamers prefer action-packed or horror-themed games. Others enjoy more narrative-based experiences. Mike is known as a variety streamer.

"I never really stick to one thing," he said.

他公开地与他的观众谈论他的康复和持续的健康问题——这是他与其他玩家不同的地方.

他说，他希望让慢性疾病正常化，“不要让它成为某种悲伤的故事”.

“我圈子里的人都说他们很欣赏我谈论自己的健康, and that feels great," he said.

Mike opens up to that audience because he's building a community. Among his loved ones, though, 他很少谈论他的心脏缺陷以及它们如何影响了他的生活轨迹.

"When someone is born with a chronic condition, 他们从不抱怨，因为他们不知道什么是感觉良好," Norma said. "Michael never complains about anything."

迈克还利用他的平台与LGBTQ社区的其他人建立联系. At 16, he started dating another teenage male he met online.

By sharing his story whenever and wherever he can, 迈克希望能和那些看到自己的生活反映在他身上的人建立联系.

"I'm not the only person in the world who has these issues, but it took me a long time to find people who I could relate to," he said. "I want people to see that they're not alone."

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.

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