Anna

Anna turned 22 in June and in July she started having chest pains, tingling in her arms and legs, shortness of breath, and coughing a lot of phlegm up. Since she turned 22 on her birthday she no longer was on her dad's insurance, so she took a job in a factory to be able to get benefits. It is very hot in June, July and August here, so the doctors said she had bronchitis and since she didn't have insurance they were going to save her some money and not do x-rays or blood work. So we went back to the local emergency room four times before she was so sick she couldn't walk across the room before she had to sit down. Finally a nurse realized she was much worse, and told her he would make sure they found out what was the matter. Two hours later she was rushed by ambulance to the St. Johns CCU unit with the diagnosis of congestive heart failure and 3 blood clots in her left ventricle. The doctors were great there, they told us up front she may have to have a transplant because her heart is only functioning at 10%. Three days after we got into CCU she had a heart attack. They shocked her and she was ok, but the next day she coded twice in half an hour. They got her healthier somewhat and she went home for one week and then ended back in CCU because of fluid.

Three weeks later Anna had to have a ICD put in, it is a pacemaker and defibrillator in one. The doctors were testing the unit and she coded again, so they stopped and called the doctors at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. They told us to bring her up in a week to be evaluated. They wanted the ICD incision to heal, and also lso to see family and friends before she went the 300 plus miles to Chicago.

When she arrived in Chicago the doctors admitted her to the hospital and she started to be evaluated for a transplant. That was on Wednesday; Sunday evening her heart completely stopped. The nurses and doctors did CPR on Anna for almost 2 hours, but that kept her blood pressure going and they didn't give up. They then put her on a bypass machine to keep her alive. They had to bring the operating room to Anna, as she couldn't be moved.

On Monday morning on our 30th anniversary, Anna was put on a biventricular assist device. This machine is hooked up to two units that are pumps, they pump the blood to and through her heart. They are on the outside of her body and are very cumbersome for her small frame. After coming off the ventilator she had to wake up not knowing why she had this machine on her body. She did very well in accepting this and it's hard to imagine what is going through her head.

On October 30th, the doctors found a blood clot in her right ventricle and they moved her up to 1a status, the top of the transplant list. Today is Halloween and we are starting our wait. Anna has A+ blood and it is common. She will be on the top of the list for 30 days and then go downward. Anna is anxious to get a new heart and she knows someone has to die to do this, that is weighing on her mind too. But the doctors are working with her and she is feeling more at ease with this issue.

November 6 Update

Great news—Anna got her new heart on Sunday November 4th. She is doing great and is off the ventilator and is actually eating popsicles and soup broth two days after surgery. She went to a listing of 1a on the 30th and received her new heart 6 days later, no more VAD machine to pump for her. I will update further as we go along with her recovery.