Support Stacie Sumandig!
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I would like to tell you a
story of a young mom. Meet Stacie Sumandig. She is a 40 year old mom to
Alec (14) and Annika (12) as well as 3 step children. She is employed
with the Puyallup School District on the lawn crew. She has worked on
every campus in the district. She is a very active, healthy person.
She's all about family and devotes most of her time to her husband and
kids.
A couple of months back, Stacie Sumandig and her family had a flood in their home destroying the ceiling above their living room
A couple of months back, Stacie Sumandig and her family had a flood in their home destroying the ceiling above their living room
,
dining room, and kitchen. Their insurance company sent in a restoration company to do all the repairs. During this time, they had humidifiers running 24/7 to dry up the walls and floors. The heat in the house was overwhelming.
During this time, Stacie started feeling ill. She has an asthma condition that causes her trouble here and there. She went to her doctor who couldn't pin point the issue but decided it was most likely bronchitis and began treating her for that. When conditions didn't get better, she re diagnosed as pneumonia and then the flu. Conditions kept getting worse. Her doctor decided to start running tests. Stacie has a congenital heart defect requiring an artificial valve. She has had it replaced twice in her lifetime.
Stacie checked in with her doctor on Wednesday the 31st of October. Her doctor immediately admitted her to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA for treatment of an infection in her heart. After spending the night at Good Samaritan, they sent her to Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma, WA. Neither hospitals felt comfortable treating her so she was sent to University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA on Friday November 2nd.
Upon further tests and other procedures, it was discovered that the infection was far worse than originally thought to be. The valve had an infection that had spread through her entire heart causing the tissue to literally crumble. Doctors did not feel she would make it through the weekend giving her a very slim chance of survival. She would need a complete heart transplant. However, she had to get stronger to be a considered for the surgery.
Stacie started making small steps of progress and her numbers were slowly coming down. She was alert and active while in her bed. On Sunday she had a set back where she was having multiple heart attacks but the infection was clearing up! Doctors cleared her for surgery Tuesday, November 6th at 7:30AM. Her state of mind was cleared but she was full of fear going in to the surgery.
There was no donor heart available for her so doctors had to use a mechanical heart in it's place. The surgery went well and she stayed strong. As the doctors were taking her off bypass, her lungs began to fail. She had too much fluid in her lungs and they weren't functioning. She had to remain on the machines until her lungs could drain and build up muscle again. Doctors felt she should remain in a medically induced coma to give her body time to rest and heal without stimulation.
Stacie is continuing to make progress daily. She is still fighting hard and shows us daily she's not giving up. Her family is all around her daily to support her and her husband. Her husband is currently living at the hospital with only one trip home to Puyallup since the beginning of her hospital stay. Her mom is caring for her kids in Puyallup and driving them to and from the hospital each day to be there with their mom.
As of Monday, November 12th, her doctors are hopeful she will be able to come out of the coma by this weekend and be able to begin recovery. She is on the very top of the donor list and when a tissue heart becomes available, will be scheduled for surgery!
dining room, and kitchen. Their insurance company sent in a restoration company to do all the repairs. During this time, they had humidifiers running 24/7 to dry up the walls and floors. The heat in the house was overwhelming.
During this time, Stacie started feeling ill. She has an asthma condition that causes her trouble here and there. She went to her doctor who couldn't pin point the issue but decided it was most likely bronchitis and began treating her for that. When conditions didn't get better, she re diagnosed as pneumonia and then the flu. Conditions kept getting worse. Her doctor decided to start running tests. Stacie has a congenital heart defect requiring an artificial valve. She has had it replaced twice in her lifetime.
Stacie checked in with her doctor on Wednesday the 31st of October. Her doctor immediately admitted her to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA for treatment of an infection in her heart. After spending the night at Good Samaritan, they sent her to Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma, WA. Neither hospitals felt comfortable treating her so she was sent to University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA on Friday November 2nd.
Upon further tests and other procedures, it was discovered that the infection was far worse than originally thought to be. The valve had an infection that had spread through her entire heart causing the tissue to literally crumble. Doctors did not feel she would make it through the weekend giving her a very slim chance of survival. She would need a complete heart transplant. However, she had to get stronger to be a considered for the surgery.
Stacie started making small steps of progress and her numbers were slowly coming down. She was alert and active while in her bed. On Sunday she had a set back where she was having multiple heart attacks but the infection was clearing up! Doctors cleared her for surgery Tuesday, November 6th at 7:30AM. Her state of mind was cleared but she was full of fear going in to the surgery.
There was no donor heart available for her so doctors had to use a mechanical heart in it's place. The surgery went well and she stayed strong. As the doctors were taking her off bypass, her lungs began to fail. She had too much fluid in her lungs and they weren't functioning. She had to remain on the machines until her lungs could drain and build up muscle again. Doctors felt she should remain in a medically induced coma to give her body time to rest and heal without stimulation.
Stacie is continuing to make progress daily. She is still fighting hard and shows us daily she's not giving up. Her family is all around her daily to support her and her husband. Her husband is currently living at the hospital with only one trip home to Puyallup since the beginning of her hospital stay. Her mom is caring for her kids in Puyallup and driving them to and from the hospital each day to be there with their mom.
As of Monday, November 12th, her doctors are hopeful she will be able to come out of the coma by this weekend and be able to begin recovery. She is on the very top of the donor list and when a tissue heart becomes available, will be scheduled for surgery!
Organizer
Charlene Fierro
Organizer
Puyallup, WA
