Barbara's Open Heart Surgery Fund

Hi, I'm Barbara Nickens Turner. On October 6th of 2016 I awoke up and could not breath.  I was rushed to St. Thomas West.  I was in heart failure.  I had mild symptoms such as occasional chest pain, I would get light headed and fatigued easily and had been told that I had a heart murmur since I was in my 20s.  I had mentioned to my PCP but it went undiagnosed.  After being hospitalized and much testing I was diagnosed with a rare genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and my mitral valve was leaking/regergitating.  What this means is that my heart muscle is abnormally thick and it's harder for my heart to pump blood. I was put on medications to control my pressure and heart rate and had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibulator implanted in December of 2016.  I did not improve with medication and I am now scheduled for open heart surgery March 29th for a septal myectomy (removal of the thickness of heart muscle) and mitral valve repair/replacement.  The recovery time is expected to be between 12 to 16 weeks.  With surgery the prognosis is excellent and I have been told to expect immediate and long lasting relief from my symptoms and a longer life span.  I do not have short or long term disability nor any vacation time built up to cover my deductible and more importantly my living expenses.  I am a single person with only my income.  Any contributions will mean so much to me and I will be forever grateful.   Thank you for taking time to read this.  God Bless.