Help Elaine Watkins receive a heart transplant
Donation protected
Hello everyone, Ashley here, Elaine’s daughter. I started this GoFundMe to benefit my mom.
Elaine is currently in the CCU (intensive care) at University of Virginia hospital, patiently awaiting a donor match for a heart transplant due to heart failure. This was caused by damage to her heart during chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer, 7 years ago.
Below, I’ll tell her whole lengthy story, so you can understand how we got to where we are (if you’ve got time, worth the read!)
If you’re short on time or just want to “get to the point” skip ahead to where you see the label “*****CURRENTLY*****” for what she’s going through right now.
THE WHOLE STORY:
February 2011:
It all started in 2011, when Elaine was diagnosed with breast cancer, at only 43 years old. The doctors believed it could be handled with a double mastectomy, and didn’t feel chemo and radiation were necessary. She agreed to undergo this surgery, and on the operating table, the doctors stopped. Something was wrong; her heartbeat was irregular. She was pulled from the operation and woke up thinking the surgery was over, when it hadn’t even begun. The doctors handn’t run an EKG before the surgery, and missed the slight irregularity in her heartbeat (which likely developed during her third pregnancy). She needed to undergo 3 weeks of cardiac testing to be sure she was cleared for the rescheduled double mastectomy surgery.
Once finally cleared, she underwent this painful procedure. She proceeded with reconstruction surgery afterwards, which included taking a skin graft from the thigh for some of the reconstructive process.
February 2015:
Fast forward to 2015, at 47 years old, Elaine received devastating news from her doctors that her breast cancer had returned. There were a few cells along the incision site from the double mastectomy, and that’s where the cancer came back. They found it was starting to spread to her lymph nodes, so the doctors wanted to proceed with a strong regime of chemotherapy, followed by radiation.
She had weekly chemo treatments for 6 rounds, (over 12 weeks), and daily radiation for 6 weeks. She developed anemia during this process, and needed several blood transfusions. After fighting past the nausea, hair loss, weakness, and fatigue, she did it! The treatments were over, and the cancer seemed to be gone.
Elaine’s journey was not over, however.
She was prescribed a low-dose chemo pill to take for the next 10 years, just to be sure the cancer stayed away. The catch? In order to be on this pill, you need to be post-menopausal. She was not. Elaine had to undergo a ovariectomy to put her body into menopause so that she could take this prescription.
2016:
In 2016, after the chemotherapy and radiation were over, they tested her heart strength. Elaine’s ejection fraction (measurement of the percentage of blood leaving your heart each time it squeezes) was down to 20%. A normal heart should be between 50-70%. The doctors again delivered bad news, her heart has been permanently damaged by the chemotherapy treatments.
For the next 7 years, Elaine took heart medications prescribed by her cardiologists to help maximize her heart function. Activity became a little more difficult, but her body was compensating with her youth on her side.
Additionally, doctors discovered signs of damage to her bone marrow (also due to the chemo; mild osteoporosis). She received Zometa, a drug to strengthen the bones, as a shot every 6 months, for the following 3 years. She did see positive bone improvement from these shots.
*****CURRENTLY*****
February 2022:
Something had changed for Elaine. Regular activities, like brushing her teeth, chewing something tough, were making her tired. Her doctors did a test, and her heart ejection fraction was down to 15%; This is critically low. They scheduled her for surgery to have an ICD (electronic defibrillator) placed in her chest. This device automatically shocks the heart if it were to stop beating, or go into a very irregular rhythm.
July 6th, 2022:
Elaine had the ICD implant surgery successfully. However, upon returning home, she developed a chronic cough, had trouble breathing when laying flat, and felt out of breath when seated. Unsure if this was a hard recovery from surgery or something more, she was referred to a team of heart failure specialist at University of Virginia Medical center, in Charlottesville, VA.
August 3rd, 2022:
A heart catherization was performed in the hospital. The results of this procedure determined that Elaine’s ejection fraction was below 15%. She was admitted to UVA hospital and has been in the CCU (Coronary Care Unit) ever since.
Her team of heart failure specialists did copious tests, and determined that Elaine qualified to receive a heart transplant. This was determined to be the mot effective path forward, with the best chance of getting back to a normal life.Because of how weak her heart is, she has to remain in the CCU until a donor match is found. It’s simply not safe for her to go home; the heart is too weak.
The team inserted a balloon pump into the femoral artery (through the groin) to support her heart while she waits. Because of this device going through the artery from the leg, she must keep her right leg straight, she cannot bend at the waist/hips, and cannot be above a 30 degree angle when sitting up. She has a nifty “standing bed”, which tips her forward to allow her to place some weight on her legs. This is helping her to keep her strength up leading up to her heart transplant surgery.
Elaine is listed in tier two on the transplant list, which is a relatively high need category. The doctors said that in the past, patients in the hospital within this tier typically receive a new heart within 2 weeks, however this is not a guarantee, and there is no timeline to how long she will be here waiting patiently to start the recovery process.
She is in good spirits, all things considered. If you were to visit her, you’d almost think she could jump up, unplug, hop out of bed, and go home! She has been enjoying texts, calls, and FaceTimes from family and friends, and visits from her sisters, in-laws, husband, and children.
How will this GoFundMe help Elaine and the Watkins family?
The UVA hospital is 120 miles away from the Watkins household. It takes roughly 3 hours of drive time each day to make a visit. Over the course of a week, about 1,000 miles are added to the car, and over $150 in gas is spent.
Currently, the family only has one reliable vehicle to make this trip so regularly. This greatly limits their ability to support Elaine, and puts all the wear and tear on one car.
This GoFundMe will help the family:
-Pay for gas for visits to and from the hospital while Elaine is waiting for surgery, and after, during the 2-3 week in-patient recovery period.
-Help Elaine make 2-3 weekly visits for the first few months post-transplant, for rehab and lab work
-Pay for car repairs and routine maintenance.
-Help assist with purchasing reliable vehicles.
-Help support the ongoing and upcoming medical costs (The family does have insurance, however, a heart transplant costs over $1 million!!! Not all costs will be covered by insurance, and crazy enough, bills are already coming in).
-Help support Ashley as she cancels all of her freelance work to be home in Virginia to support her mom and family.
-Help support Sean, Aaron, and Ron with any leave they may need to take to do the same.
-Help purchase household supplies, meals, etc.
-Assist in financing the future costs of rehab, extra medication expenses, and additional doctors/appointments.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU! We couldn’t get through this difficult time without the love and support of our family, friends, and community surrounding us. If you’re unable to give to this fundraiser but still want to send some love, a link to send a free e-card to Elaine is below. Select “Deliver by hand” and address to “Elaine Watkins”. She will get a card printed off and delivered directly to her room. We are making a beautiful wall of all the lovely notes she’s receiving, to keep her spirits high.
Part of our card wall
Please reach out to me if there is another way you’d like to help, or if you’d like the home address to send a gift, handwritten card, or anything else.
Feel free to share this page with anyone and everyone! And as always, we are so thankful and grateful for all of your love, thoughts, and prayers! I will be updating this page as Elaine progresses. This will be a long road, but we’ve got this! Keep checking here to stay tuned!