00:03Tamara Schwab takes every heartbeat as a gift.
00:06So I was like saying goodbye and I think that was pretty hard for all of us.
00:13Her life was in mortal danger until a donor heart saved her.
00:18That's the scar of the heart transplantation.
00:21I was so happy. I was crying because I was so thankful.
00:30That we go this way.
00:36That I get this chance to be alive, to get the second chance.
00:44Now she's making the most of this second chance.
00:47Testing her limits and pushing past every mile.
00:55How far can she make it as a transplant athlete?
00:58With a heart beating in her chest that once belonged to another.
01:14This is Roth, a quaint Bavarian town in southern Germany.
01:17It's been home to 32-year-old Tamara Schwab for all her life.
01:22A business psychologist and coach focusing on resilience, change and success, she was crowned Vice Miss Germany in 2024.
01:31She also authored a best-selling book which shares the story of the single most important moment of her life,
01:37her heart transplant.
01:39When I was 24, I had a cardiac arrest in the fitness studio.
01:45So I was on a bike, I was riding the bike and I got arrhythmia.
01:50After that I had a sudden heart death.
01:54She was revived but months later suffered another cardiac arrest.
01:58I saw my life and everything what happened in my life before I lost my consciousness.
02:07For years Tamara was confined to her home.
02:11Diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition, her life was filled with uncertainty.
02:16Three years with a lot of hospital visits, a lot of pain, a lot of fear.
02:27Doctors said her only hope was finding a heart donor, something that would take time.
02:33My friends and my family, they had to watch. They couldn't do anything.
02:40They had more fear than I, to lose me.
02:45And then she got lucky. A match was found and a transplant was finally possible.
02:50I was so happy. I was crying because I was so thankful that we go this way.
03:06That I get this chance to be alive, to get the second chance.
03:20This operation is so big and they will take my heart and I will get a new one.
03:30And no one knows if it works.
03:36Thankfully it did work. And ever since Tamara has chosen to make the most out of every moment.
03:41It was a miracle. It's like I'm feeling alive.
03:47And I want this feeling again and again and again.
03:51Tamara dreams of competing in cycling at the World Transplant Games.
03:56An event that unites organ donors and recipients from around the world to test their limits.
04:02But before she can take part, she has to find out if her body can handle it or if it's
04:07too risky.
04:08It takes more time for me and for my heart to warm up.
04:12And I'm not sure if I have a chance to win the races because of this.
04:18I want to ask a doctor today if everything is okay.
04:21I hope everything is okay, everything is fine and I can start at the World Transplant Games with no worries.
04:30Tamara is at Munich Technical University's Sports Medicine Department for a handful of tests today.
04:40That's the scar of the heart transplantation, from this to this, from the implantation of the defibrillator.
04:49The tests include an electrocardiogram or ECG, an ultrasound, electrolyte testing and spirometry or lung capacity test.
05:10She also undergoes a supervised stress test to see how her heart responds to physical strain.
05:17It's an endurance exercise with bouts of intense, prolonged cycling designed to detect any structural or electrical changes in the
05:25heart.
05:26This is the only way to determine if she can compete in the transplant games at all.
05:36With 8,575 people waiting for a donor organ, Germany has one of the lowest organ donation rates in Europe.
05:45Strict opt-in consent laws and a shortage of registered donors means that patients often wait years for a suitable
05:51match.
05:55This is, in other countries, different, like for example in Spain.
06:01Here, the individual or the patient really has to claim that, yes, my heart can be transplanted.
06:11In other countries it is that this is without question.
06:16So it should be first the case that all organs from individuals who die can be and should be transplanted.
06:26Trust in Germany's system broke in 2012 when a transplant scandal revealed doctors manipulating waiting lists,
06:32a breach that still shadows the donation system today.
06:37It is still in the back head of the population that why should I?
06:43Maybe my organs are not reaching the right people.
06:49Tamara's heart holds bittersweet questions about life.
06:52Someone had to die so she could live.
06:57So often I'm thinking about my donor.
07:00Whatever I see, where I am, what I learn and so on, every time my donor is with me.
07:08The heart that I got is from another person.
07:10She didn't know me, but she was fine that her heart will be alive after her death and will give
07:24life.
07:26Back in the clinic, every pedal stroke is a test of Tamara's strength.
07:30At last, it's over.
07:33Just step out gently, keep moving and quickly.
07:37Let me know everything okay?
07:39Any discomfort, weakness, chest pressure, dizziness?
07:51Now I know the heart is good, everything is good.
07:55There's no problem or anything else.
07:58So I have a good feeling and I think it's very important to have this feeling.
08:08Back home, Tamara's father is a bit worried about her participation in competitive sport.
08:16Is it good for the heart? That's the question.
08:19Yeah, of course, I'm not doing any extreme sports.
08:24But Tamara's resolve wins him over.
08:29She has shown tremendous strength.
08:33She's also grown from this whole thing.
08:38She's fit.
08:39I'm not worried anymore.
08:44In the evening, some friends come by and join her training for a bit of extra motivation.
08:54So when I'm on my bike and I ride 70 kilometers, I'm like, wow, this is possible with a new
09:04heart.
09:07I'm so thankful that I can do sports again because I had two cardiac arrests, one of them in the
09:14fitness studio.
09:15It challenged my mental health as well because I have this remember of the hard times and I go through
09:24it again and again when I'm on the bicycle.
09:28I like to challenge me.
09:31After practice, it's time for a pint. Tamara's friends will cheer her on at the World Transplant Games in Dresden.
09:40The East German city is hosting athletes from 51 countries competing in events including cycling, swimming and triathlon.
09:49Before race day, Tamara decides to check out the racetrack. Cycling also helps her reflect on the changes she has
09:55made in her post-transplant life.
10:01I think what changed a lot is that I live more intensely.
10:07I decide I do things now and not later.
10:10I decided that I won't work at my old job for five days a week.
10:17I decided it will be just three days.
10:22My decisions are more decided from my heart and not from my brain.
10:32It's finally the moment Tamara has been waiting for.
10:36Will her heart hold up?
10:49She takes an early lead, but this will be a test of stamina.
10:53Tamara can't push her heart beyond a certain limit.
11:00And it's very close at the end. Tamara finishes fourth, just seven seconds shy of the bronze medal.
11:12Four years after her heart beat for the first time inside her body.
11:22This was one of my very first races after my heart transplantation.
11:27And I never thought that this will be possible.
11:33that I can push my body, my heart in this way.
11:40I had so many good feelings in me.
11:45I was in a limit.
11:46So I had a rate of 135 and I can't go higher.
11:51Just the last 100m decided who will be the first, the second, the third and the fourth.
11:58Next time, I hope I wriggle the bronze.
12:01Maybe gold?
12:02Or maybe gold, we will see.
12:05So I have two years now for training.
12:08In the evening, it's time to celebrate second chances and progress.
12:14I reached my goal, my heart did a great job.
12:17Now I think I can trust my heart 100%.
12:21And I think I can trust my heart 100%.
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