DAVID Royse has just one Christmas wish this year and it is the same one as last year - a new heart. The father-of-two from Walkden has spent every day for more than 12 months wondering whether today will be the one when he gets a life-saving call from doctors.

He even carries a bleeper so that he can be contacted at any time.

When the call does come, he will be rushed into Wythenshawe Hospital to have a new heart transplanted.

It will mean the end of a long battle after already surviving a stroke and two cardiac arrests. David takes a cocktail of drugs every day, as well as struggling to live with a device which gives him a powerful electric shock - so strong it makes him ill for days.

The powerful gadget, which has been inserted into his heart - a mini defibrillator - regulates his heartbeat by giving violent electric shocks when his pulse beats too fast.

The effects of the shock leave David weakened and unable to do anything except rest. The 55-year-old said: "I just want my life back. People don't realise how difficult life is with a defibrillator.

"I have lived with this for what seems like an eternity.

"I find I have to stay in every day because I can't go out in case the defibrillator goes off. It really is awful."

David, a former electrician at the BEN's printing plant in Lostock, learned he had an enlarged heart after suffering a stroke three years ago which partially paralysed the right side of his body.

Since then, he has survived two cardiac arrests.

He added: "I was absolutely floored when they told me I had a swollen heart and needed a transplant.

"But it's not something I fear, having talked to transplant patients.

"It's something I welcome. I'm looking forward to getting my life back. I will even be able to work again which is brilliant, it drives me mad doing nothing all day."

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