My Stepmom
My stepmom has been dealing with a failing heart for several years now. She's had heart problems most of her adult life, I think, and it runs in the family. Her brother died in his 20s from heart failure, and their dad passed away earlier than normal as well. She's had a number of attacks and episodes and it has reached a point where a pacemaker isn't enough anymore. She's on a VAD, a ventricular assist device which is basically a mechanical pump that keeps her heart going. She has to carry around a battery pack in a bag with her at all times, and has to swap out batteries and always have extras charging, because if a battery fails, so does her heart. It's scary.
She was a candidate for a heart transplant. But unfortunately, due to some pretty serious illnesses she's had in the past, her antibody count is so high that they've put her at a 99% chance of rejection if she were to get a transplant. For the last year or so, she's been undergoing different therapies to try and bring her antibody counts down, but apparently nothing has worked. In these types of difficult cases, her local medical providers typically send patients out to Cedar Sinai in California, and so she and Dad were making plans for that possibility. Unfortunately, in reviewing her case, CS said there wasn't anything they could do for her that her own team wasn't already doing. So, it looks like she won't be going there.
Basically, as things stand now, there's nothing that can be done. She will have to simply remain on the VAD device until... until whatever happens, happens. It's not a hopeful situation at all. She sent me a text today letting me know what CS had said, and I sat at my desk at work doing my best to not cry. I don't know how long they are expecting her to live, but she's mentioned both 3 and 5 years, based on the functional expectancy of the VAD. When it starts wearing down, I don't know if they put her on another one, or what. She's been on this one for over a year now.
These are the times when I wish I didn't live so far away from the family. My own heart is hurting. But I know my stepmom. She is going to wring every extra minute out of life that she can. I hope I can get back to see her before she goes.
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She was a candidate for a heart transplant. But unfortunately, due to some pretty serious illnesses she's had in the past, her antibody count is so high that they've put her at a 99% chance of rejection if she were to get a transplant. For the last year or so, she's been undergoing different therapies to try and bring her antibody counts down, but apparently nothing has worked. In these types of difficult cases, her local medical providers typically send patients out to Cedar Sinai in California, and so she and Dad were making plans for that possibility. Unfortunately, in reviewing her case, CS said there wasn't anything they could do for her that her own team wasn't already doing. So, it looks like she won't be going there.
Basically, as things stand now, there's nothing that can be done. She will have to simply remain on the VAD device until... until whatever happens, happens. It's not a hopeful situation at all. She sent me a text today letting me know what CS had said, and I sat at my desk at work doing my best to not cry. I don't know how long they are expecting her to live, but she's mentioned both 3 and 5 years, based on the functional expectancy of the VAD. When it starts wearing down, I don't know if they put her on another one, or what. She's been on this one for over a year now.
These are the times when I wish I didn't live so far away from the family. My own heart is hurting. But I know my stepmom. She is going to wring every extra minute out of life that she can. I hope I can get back to see her before she goes.
This entry was originally posted at https://iceraptoress.dreamwidth.org/1514.html. Please comment there using OpenID.