Get the Cousins Family back on their feet!

This is Justin's Story, through Jessica (his partner's) eyes:

Yesterday in the very early morning, Justin started having severe chest pain. We made it to the clinic, then the ER out west, then an emergency transfer to downtown to the cardiac cath lab after labs, EKGs, X-rays, and echos. They found he had a large clot that completely obstructed his Left Anterior Descending Artery- the largest artery that supplies 50% of the blood flow that the heart needs to function. It was a freak incident, likely caused by a tear in the artery. The clot caused a heart attack and damage to the heart muscle. They call heart attacks caused by this artery the “widow maker”. The cardiologist who saw us after the cath lab expressed how lucky Justin is to be alive- typically a full occlusion of the artery causes immediate death. Since the infarct was from a clot and not from a clogged artery from cholesterol like typically happens, they were able to repair the artery and place a stent in the LAD and restore blood flow. There is a lot of damage and currently his heart is working at around 50% capacity, but they are hopeful that because he is so young, the damage can be reversed. They’ve started him on medications to help heal his heart muscle and prevent any further clots. He gets to wear a fancy defibrillator vest and will start cardiac rehab to work on strengthening his heart.

Justin is doing well. He’s mentally and physically exhausted but coping okay. He’s very short of breath which is to be expected. He can’t handle much activity or even much conversation. His vitals and labs are stable. He’s concerned with his job and finances, but otherwise he’s in good spirits and has improved a lot since yesterday. We’re tying not to worry too much and focus on the fact that we are so blessed that he survived. That’s all that matters right now.

We are so thankful for our friends and family who have reached out and offered support. We honestly don’t know what we need right now. I know everyone wants to help out, and we will update if/when we figure out our plan and what we need help with. The kids are all good for now, and I’m okay as well. Yesterday was a total whirlwind and we didn’t have much time to even think- so weird how fast things go when you’re in survival mode. We are also incredibly grateful to the amazing staff at Methodist West ER who jumped to action from the second we walked in the door, and the skilled staff and physicians at the downtown Cath Lab that saved his life. We’ve been in great hands every step of the way and everyone has been so kind and accommodating.

Guys, hug your people tight and love them hard. I never thought that 3 months after having a baby, at the age of 35, I could come so close to losing the father of my children, my best friend, and my favorite person in the world. You literally never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Everything is so fragile and so uncertain. We’ve got so many adjustments to make for the health of our whole family, but mostly from now on to live with intention, to never take things for granted, and to live life to the fullest today because tomorrow isn’t promised.

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