Gabe Wagner 41 years old Congestive Heart Failure

Hi, my name is Jessica Pennington, I am attempting to raise funds on behalf of my brother-in-law Gabe Wagner and my sister Tina Culp.

With unexpected painful news, about 6 weeks ago, my brother-in-law Gabe Wagner suddenly was told he had congestive heart failure. He is only 41 years old. He has been in and out of hospitals/ICUs/surgeries.

I want to emphasize that we are so blessed he is still fighting, and he is currently in the hands of the best doctors in the country and has the best physician of all watching over him and answering our prayers giving us continued hope and faith he will overcome this.

The next few hours, days, months are uncertain of what will come out of all this, but our hope is he's back to Gabe with a strong heart.

The family is limited to Medicaid that covers medical expenses only. Without PTO, sick time or disability, Tina is left with the inability to provide income because she is left desperately clinging on to the love of her life. The need for constant care, support and assistance has left the family with this unavoidable hardship. The number one focus is for him to get better, but my hope is to raise them to help them not worry about basic financial needs.

Gabe went into urgent care 9/14 feeling like he had pneumonia. They transferred him 9/14 to Tacoma General to then find out he had CHF (congestive heart failure) They did echo & ekg to find out his heart was enlarge and also that his Left Ventricular was only pump at 15% instead of 60%. He was there for 10 days and got discharged on 9/23. He went home with a picc line and an IV drip of Milrinone, heart meds and a diuretic. He was doing out patient to get his heart strong get off drip or worst-case scenario a permanent LVAD or heart transplant. During this time a nurse came by once a week during the outpatient to check picc, take blood and normal checkups. On 10/9 went in for a cardiac catheter to make sure there was no blockage, he had a light cough. Next day 10/10 went back to ER due to him being in a lot of pain, he was admitted at that point. Then he had a procedure to put a Pulmonary Artery Catheter in to heart to keep eye on the pumping of heart. At that point they realized it just wasn’t pumping as well as they’d like. So decided at that point to let Tina know they want to put a device in call impella (temporary LVAD) so she agreed. This device will help the L ventricle pump. He was then taken up to ICU after two days the heart specialist team decided to see if UW would take him as a patient since they have more resources. They approved his to be transferred so they transferred him to UW Hospital on 10/12. Then on 10/13 levels were still not where they had liked. They did get better but still not where they wanted all the organs to be at. So, the team all together decided to do an Ecmo procedure that allows his heart and lungs to rest and the organs to get oxygen the need. The machine circulates all the unoxygenated out of his body into the Ecmo and then circulates the oxygenated blood back through his body. Pretty amazing. This way it’s focusing on recovering all the organs and his body, while allowing heart / lungs to rest. The LVADs only focus on left part of heart. They were able to take his ventilator out and off all sedation on 10/16 he was beyond happy. He was able to have some ice chips and liquids. All his levels look awesome and he’s doing very well. They just want to allow his body to rest. On 10/17 the team came together. They did an echo (ultrasound) scan where they do a test where a bunch of doctors are in the room. They give Gabe medicine that helps his heart pump while doing this test. Then they try to wean him off the ECMO that’s helping support his heart. They do 4 different rounds which are lowering it little by little until the very last one, that means it’s just his heart on its own with some medicine. They said all the numbers were super good. So, now they will bring it to team, and he could potentially have the Ecmo taken out of his legs tomorrow. I will update this post as often as I get updates that change.

The Ultimate goal is to get all his levels organs stronger for the next procedure. Right now, baby steps and one day at a time. Gabe is so incredibly strong through all the pain and suffering he’s encountered and will keep fighting through this obstacle in life.

I know that times are tough for everyone, but any contribution towards allowing my sister Tina to be by his side with no financial burden, would be greatly appreciated. We have a long, long road to recovery. We are grateful for any amount, no matter what amount. Together, we can make a difference in their life and help them stay afloat. Regardless of whatever financial contribution you can make, please join us in prayer for a potential recovery or delay in needing an immediate heart transplant.

Thank you for taking the time to read Gabe and Tinas story, and for any support you may be able to provide. I pray that the Lord also comforts those of you who are also grieving and despairing and that we continue to love and care for each other during these difficult times.

With gratitude and love,

Gabe’s Family