Connor's Heart
Donation protected
Connor is 24 years old, he is a loving son, brother, grandson, boyfriend, nephew, cousin and friend to many. Connor is a gentle soul with a kind heart.
A little history..... Connor was born with a VSD . This condition meant having to take antibiotics before any dental procedures as a precaution to prevent infection from oral germs.
He never had any problems with this and lived a normal healthy life.
In July, Connor had oral surgery to extract his wisdom teeth. He took his antibiotics before and after the oral surgery as prescribed.
He began not feeling well in August and this continued through the fall. Connor was losing weight and just not feeling like himself. He had gone to the doctor a couple of times and during this time he was given antibiotics which actually masked the problem as it temporarily made him feel better meanwhile the strong infection was attacking his heart.
It wasn't until the night before Thanksgiving that a doctor finally started connecting the dots and diagnosed Connor with Endocarditis and informed us that he would need open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. The surgery took longer than expected because there was more damage than they expected.
Connor had an aortic root replacement, mechanical aortic valve replacement, repair of the (VSD)ventricular septal defect, reimplantation of the left coronary ostum, debridement of an annular abscess, coronary artery bypass grafting X1.
Recovery had been progressing and he was even moved off of the ICU floor. PT was started and he was up and mobile.
Then out of nowhere he went into Vtach and coded. They moved him immediately back to ICU to monitor him more closely. That evening he went into Vtach a second time. At this point the team of doctors decided he should be transferred to the University of MN.
Once admitted at the University he went into Vtach again. 3 times in a 24 hour period.
He was intubated and sedated and has a temporary feeding tube.
At that time, his surgical team made the decision that the best option was heart transplantation. So Connor was listed that evening. They expedited him to the top of the list given the critical nature of his condition.
Since that decision he has had an angiogram where they implanted a temporary pacemaker lead and they also discovered that the by pass they did on the right side had already closed causing more damage to the right side of his heart and we were told the right side was not functioning and the left side was weak.
Hence they suggested that a heart transplant was his best option.
Recent testing with a PET scan and cardio viability screening gave us some positive news.
He is getting stronger and his condition continues to improve.
With every positive comes some negative but his team of doctors are among the best of the best.
They continue to monitor his special heart, and unique condition as they research and analyze other possible options. This gives us HOPE.
We ask that you please PRAY FOR CONNOR and pray for his team of doctors to make the best possible decisions for his future.
For those of you who have asked, this account has been set up to help with Connor's extensive medical expenses and also to help with life's other bills that continue to come in because as we all know life goes on around us in spite of it standing still for Connor and his family.
We want to thank you in advance so very much for any and all prayers and any financial gift you wish to give.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connorsheart
A little history..... Connor was born with a VSD . This condition meant having to take antibiotics before any dental procedures as a precaution to prevent infection from oral germs.
He never had any problems with this and lived a normal healthy life.
In July, Connor had oral surgery to extract his wisdom teeth. He took his antibiotics before and after the oral surgery as prescribed.
He began not feeling well in August and this continued through the fall. Connor was losing weight and just not feeling like himself. He had gone to the doctor a couple of times and during this time he was given antibiotics which actually masked the problem as it temporarily made him feel better meanwhile the strong infection was attacking his heart.
It wasn't until the night before Thanksgiving that a doctor finally started connecting the dots and diagnosed Connor with Endocarditis and informed us that he would need open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. The surgery took longer than expected because there was more damage than they expected.
Connor had an aortic root replacement, mechanical aortic valve replacement, repair of the (VSD)ventricular septal defect, reimplantation of the left coronary ostum, debridement of an annular abscess, coronary artery bypass grafting X1.
Recovery had been progressing and he was even moved off of the ICU floor. PT was started and he was up and mobile.
Then out of nowhere he went into Vtach and coded. They moved him immediately back to ICU to monitor him more closely. That evening he went into Vtach a second time. At this point the team of doctors decided he should be transferred to the University of MN.
Once admitted at the University he went into Vtach again. 3 times in a 24 hour period.
He was intubated and sedated and has a temporary feeding tube.
At that time, his surgical team made the decision that the best option was heart transplantation. So Connor was listed that evening. They expedited him to the top of the list given the critical nature of his condition.
Since that decision he has had an angiogram where they implanted a temporary pacemaker lead and they also discovered that the by pass they did on the right side had already closed causing more damage to the right side of his heart and we were told the right side was not functioning and the left side was weak.
Hence they suggested that a heart transplant was his best option.
Recent testing with a PET scan and cardio viability screening gave us some positive news.
He is getting stronger and his condition continues to improve.
With every positive comes some negative but his team of doctors are among the best of the best.
They continue to monitor his special heart, and unique condition as they research and analyze other possible options. This gives us HOPE.
We ask that you please PRAY FOR CONNOR and pray for his team of doctors to make the best possible decisions for his future.
For those of you who have asked, this account has been set up to help with Connor's extensive medical expenses and also to help with life's other bills that continue to come in because as we all know life goes on around us in spite of it standing still for Connor and his family.
We want to thank you in advance so very much for any and all prayers and any financial gift you wish to give.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/connorsheart
Organizer
Kim Christen-Mattson
Organizer
Sauk Rapids, MN
