It was just like any other daily run for Andrew Jones. He put one foot in front of the other. He breathed in. He breathed out. He made it to the mailbox, but he knew something wasn’t right.

“It kind of felt like my lungs had turned into sponges. Like I was breathing through a sponge.”

That bizarre feeling first happened in 2012. And it would change his life forever.

So after that one troubling run, Andrew kept working out. But his symptoms started getting worse.

Andrew, now 26, has loved the gym since college. He found an unexpected home there and noticed that regular workouts kept him focused and disciplined. “The best way to explain it is that being active is in my blood,” he said. 
But soon his fatigue and shortness of breath turned into pain and weakness that left him, at times, unable to stand up for more than 10 minutes.
Eventually, Andrew suffered heart failure. He was coughing up blood and had to be rushed to the hospital. There, doctors told him that if he didn’t get a heart transplant soon, he could die.

That was two years ago. 
He is still awaiting a heart transplant and relies on an artificial heart and a pacemaker to keep him alive.

While he waits, Andrew is doing something few people awaiting a transplant would do. He has become a professional fitness model.

As you can see, Andrew doesn’t hide from his scars. Nor does he hide from the tubes coming in and out of his body that operate his artificial heart.
Instead, he wants those things to inspire others. He wants people to know that whatever your goals are, you shouldn’t let anything, including a near-death experience, stand in your way.
Everywhere Andrew goes, he carries a backpack. Inside it is the machine pumping blood through his veins and keeping him alive. The literal weight on his shoulders is a constant reminder of how close he came to losing everything.

“Tomorrow’s not guaranteed for any of us,” Andrew said. “For someone in my situation, it’s guaranteed a lot less. … Two and a half, three years ago? I probably would’ve taken waking up in the morning for granted.”

Now, he says, he’s grateful for every single morning he gets.

Andrew knows that everyone has goals. Whether it’s starting a business, paying off bills, or writing a book.
“If there’s something that’s on your mind 24/7 that you can’t stop thinking about, you need to act on it,” he said.
Andrew uses his body and his mind to inspire people all over the world. On his Instagram, he spreads messages of hope and acceptance, calling on people everywhere to embrace the hand they were dealt and push forward. 
“I want people to leave with a little more motivation than they came in with,” Andrew said.

In all of his photos, scars and medical equipment are on proud display.

They remind people that no matter what you’re up against, you can achieve incredible things. 
Andrew has also started a foundation called Hearts at Large, which raises awareness for organ donation and collects the stories of people whose lives have been saved by it. 
For Andrew, paying it forward is not just a thing he occasionally does, it’s a mantra for his life. 

By upworthy

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