UPDATE (January 28th): Greetings to everyone who has been coming to this page for updates on Emily’s condition. Michael is still in Cleveland with Emily. (I drove home yesterday.) Michael is doing an amazing job of advocating for her. Michael’s brother Joel and his sister Laura arrived in Cleveland last night to be with him.
We have heard from several people that they were confused about timelines and diagnoses. After my (Katie) first full night of sleep in 6 days and a phone that isn’t lighting up every two minutes, I wanted to take a moment to write a slightly more coherent explanation of this past week.
Emily was hospitalized last Thursday, January 20, and diagnosed with myocarditis, likely from Covid. We are still confused about when she had Covid, and if she is still infected now. She had many negative tests and a few positive ones.
What we did know was that the doctors offered no promises to us from the start. The cardiologist told us that 50% of myocarditis patients make it through on their own. 30% make it with assistance like a heart pump or in some circumstances, a heart transplant. We had lots of hope and optimism. Our general feeling is, “Emily is healthy, young, and strong. This will be a rough patch and she’ll get better.”
And then her condition steadily declined. By Sunday, January 23, they told us “No more visitors” because they had to put her on a BiPAP machine, which would spread germs around the room. We were so afraid that this would be the last time we would get to talk to her and touch her. Emily steeled herself to tell me that we were not going to argue. It will be fine.
On Sunday night, Emily was rushed into surgery to implant a temporary artificial heart pump, called an Impella, as her heart was 10% functional. The intention was to let her heart have a chance to rest. They said sometimes it takes days for a heart to start healing. Sometimes the heart doesn’t heal, in which case they would consider a permanent artificial heart or a transplant. I’ve been told by two different people that they couldn’t sleep that night, so they spent that time in prayer for her, not knowing what was happening at that moment.
They also sedated and intubated her on Sunday night. That morning, the doctor told us, “This is as sick as a person can be.” They bent the visitation rules that day to allow any family to come to see her, one at a time, because of her poor condition.
On Monday, a new rounding doctor looked at the charts with fresh eyes and wanted to follow a hunch about the cause. He wondered if this was possibly not covid-related at all, but an autoimmune condition. He wanted to do a biopsy and consulted other hospitals. Cleveland Clinic agreed to bring her out for the biopsy and to continue her care. They had everything needed for any of the outcomes, which Parkview did not.
The search for transportation by ambulance or helicopter began on Monday afternoon, and Emily was finally sent Tuesday afternoon by helicopter. Michael and I drove to Cleveland to be near her.
Wednesday, or Beautiful Wednesday as I will think of it from now on, we called the nurse who gave us the first positive report since this had started. “She is showing signs that her heart wants to start working. We may ease her off of the Impella today.”
The doctors also decided against a biopsy, concluding that it was probably because of covid, and it wasn’t necessarily worth the risk of the procedure to chase that particular rabbit trail. We are trusting them on this.
Thursday, Wonderful, Amazing, joyful Thursday! Off the intubation. Off the sedation. Her personality showing through: already giving Michael advice, instructions to pass along to her sisters, and insisting on doing things herself.
She was able to drink water, her favorite drink, and Michael informs me that she came out of sedation with both guns blazing. I believe him.
This brings us to today, Friday, January 28.
We know there have been rumors that she had Covid pneumonia, which was not the case. There were also rumors that she was getting a transplant. There was some potential truth to that, in that the doctors had told us that she could be in for one if her heart didn’t start to heal.
I don’t know why she is bouncing back so quickly. I know of at least 30 people that have spent a significant amount of time praying fervently for her recovery. I know Emily is STUBBORN and lives a healthy lifestyle. I know she is getting amazing 1-on-1 nursing care at the Cleveland Clinic.
This has been a long week. We have felt your support and prayers. You have all made this week more bearable. Sometimes we stepped out onto nothing but air, trusting that bridges would be placed under our feet. And they were. Thank you all.
God is good. No matter any outcome, God is good.
UPDATE (January 25th): Wow! We reached our initial goal in one day (something we didn't think we'd even hit). Thanks to all who have given! You are amazing. Donations are still needed. Emily (and Michael) will incur thousands more in bills (medical, travel to/in Cleveland) before insurance fully kicks in and more money is needed and deeply appreciated. Please give!
Original Post (January 24th)
Have you been wondering how you can show love and support for Emily in a concrete and caring way? Emily (and Michael) need your help. Emily underwent emergency heart surgery and is in recovery. You can show your love and support for Emily by donating here to help cover medical bills.
We have heard from several people that they were confused about timelines and diagnoses. After my (Katie) first full night of sleep in 6 days and a phone that isn’t lighting up every two minutes, I wanted to take a moment to write a slightly more coherent explanation of this past week.
Emily was hospitalized last Thursday, January 20, and diagnosed with myocarditis, likely from Covid. We are still confused about when she had Covid, and if she is still infected now. She had many negative tests and a few positive ones.
What we did know was that the doctors offered no promises to us from the start. The cardiologist told us that 50% of myocarditis patients make it through on their own. 30% make it with assistance like a heart pump or in some circumstances, a heart transplant. We had lots of hope and optimism. Our general feeling is, “Emily is healthy, young, and strong. This will be a rough patch and she’ll get better.”
And then her condition steadily declined. By Sunday, January 23, they told us “No more visitors” because they had to put her on a BiPAP machine, which would spread germs around the room. We were so afraid that this would be the last time we would get to talk to her and touch her. Emily steeled herself to tell me that we were not going to argue. It will be fine.
On Sunday night, Emily was rushed into surgery to implant a temporary artificial heart pump, called an Impella, as her heart was 10% functional. The intention was to let her heart have a chance to rest. They said sometimes it takes days for a heart to start healing. Sometimes the heart doesn’t heal, in which case they would consider a permanent artificial heart or a transplant. I’ve been told by two different people that they couldn’t sleep that night, so they spent that time in prayer for her, not knowing what was happening at that moment.
They also sedated and intubated her on Sunday night. That morning, the doctor told us, “This is as sick as a person can be.” They bent the visitation rules that day to allow any family to come to see her, one at a time, because of her poor condition.
On Monday, a new rounding doctor looked at the charts with fresh eyes and wanted to follow a hunch about the cause. He wondered if this was possibly not covid-related at all, but an autoimmune condition. He wanted to do a biopsy and consulted other hospitals. Cleveland Clinic agreed to bring her out for the biopsy and to continue her care. They had everything needed for any of the outcomes, which Parkview did not.
The search for transportation by ambulance or helicopter began on Monday afternoon, and Emily was finally sent Tuesday afternoon by helicopter. Michael and I drove to Cleveland to be near her.
Wednesday, or Beautiful Wednesday as I will think of it from now on, we called the nurse who gave us the first positive report since this had started. “She is showing signs that her heart wants to start working. We may ease her off of the Impella today.”
The doctors also decided against a biopsy, concluding that it was probably because of covid, and it wasn’t necessarily worth the risk of the procedure to chase that particular rabbit trail. We are trusting them on this.
Thursday, Wonderful, Amazing, joyful Thursday! Off the intubation. Off the sedation. Her personality showing through: already giving Michael advice, instructions to pass along to her sisters, and insisting on doing things herself.
She was able to drink water, her favorite drink, and Michael informs me that she came out of sedation with both guns blazing. I believe him.
This brings us to today, Friday, January 28.
We know there have been rumors that she had Covid pneumonia, which was not the case. There were also rumors that she was getting a transplant. There was some potential truth to that, in that the doctors had told us that she could be in for one if her heart didn’t start to heal.
I don’t know why she is bouncing back so quickly. I know of at least 30 people that have spent a significant amount of time praying fervently for her recovery. I know Emily is STUBBORN and lives a healthy lifestyle. I know she is getting amazing 1-on-1 nursing care at the Cleveland Clinic.
This has been a long week. We have felt your support and prayers. You have all made this week more bearable. Sometimes we stepped out onto nothing but air, trusting that bridges would be placed under our feet. And they were. Thank you all.
God is good. No matter any outcome, God is good.
UPDATE (January 25th): Wow! We reached our initial goal in one day (something we didn't think we'd even hit). Thanks to all who have given! You are amazing. Donations are still needed. Emily (and Michael) will incur thousands more in bills (medical, travel to/in Cleveland) before insurance fully kicks in and more money is needed and deeply appreciated. Please give!
Original Post (January 24th)
Have you been wondering how you can show love and support for Emily in a concrete and caring way? Emily (and Michael) need your help. Emily underwent emergency heart surgery and is in recovery. You can show your love and support for Emily by donating here to help cover medical bills.
A recent update from Michael, "The heart surgery implanted a secondary pump to take the stress off of her heart. If this works well, the pump can be removed later after her heart is stronger. She could become a candidate for a transplant if she isn't able to make a full recovery. She's really being put through the wringer here."
Emily started to not sleep well around January 17th. On Friday, January 21st, Emily went into the emergency room where she was diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart. On the 22nd, she was transferred to the ICU and then overnight had emergency heart surgery to install the pump to help her heart heal and recover.
There are many ways to support Emily in this season. Please do so. One practical way you can help right now is to donate here. These funds will go to help cover a portion of their medical bills.