Help with Hope Bruce’s medical expenses

Hope Bruce began her unexpected journey with heart failure in October 2021. Prior to this time, she was a healthy 19 year old young lady. She went to the emergency room in Knoxville because she wasn’t feeling quite right and very quickly, she found herself on Lifestar being lifelined to St. Thomas hospital in Nashville. There, the doctors discovered her bicuspid valve had more leakage than expected. The doctors determined she would need a valve replacement in the near future. She spent a week in the hospital, including a few days in ICU. After a week, she was sent home to begin her recovery. Her recovery included wearing a heart monitor, medications, a very strict low-sodium diet, and a need for her vitals to be constantly and consistently monitored by Greg and LeAnn. About 3 weeks later, her valve replacement was scheduled. The open-heart surgery to complete the valve replacement successfully stopped the leak. She was in the hospital, including time in the ICU, for 2 weeks at that time. While the valve replacement was successful, her heart continued to beat too fast. After this hospital stay, Hope was released to go home to continue to heal. The doctors told the family it would be a slow recovery process. This past week, Hope had started not feeling well, which led her to visit her cardiologist in Knoxville and he hoped her healing would have better progressed at this point. She was sent back to her doctor at St. Thomas in Nashville on Thursday. Hope and her family received the news that Hope will need to receive a heart transplant. Hope has been admitted to the hospital in Nashville once again and is awaiting to find out where she will be on the heart transplant list. As you can imagine, the cost to travel and stay in Nashville is becoming quite expensive. And, Hope will possibly have to stay in the hospital until she receives the transplant and of course during the necessary recovery time after the transplant. In addition to the travel expenses, these unexpected medical expenses are adding up exponentially and Greg and LeAnn are taking turns to be with Hope and this is impacting their income. We have been so proud of how strong Hope has been during this extraordinary illness. And, Greg and LeAnn’s faith has been steadfast during this deep valley for their family. We would like to ask friends and family to first and foremost pray and pray without ceasing for the Bruce family. We would also ask that if you’re able and your heart leads you to do so, to donate to help offset the financial burden this family is experiencing. Thank you for your prayers and your generosity.