Kristen Heldt's Delivery Story and Recovery

On the evening of 6.30.2021 Kristen and Jared welcomed a beautiful baby boy to their family. Warren Jared weighed in at 8lbs 10oz and was the final piece to their puzzle. Labor and delivery went as expected with no complications (or so they thought). After delivery things didn’t seem to settle down as they should. Kristen started bleeding excessively which in return dropped her Hemoglobin to just below 3 (which is just about a total body blood loss). She required a lifesaving surgery and a massive blood transfusion. While in surgery a helicopter was called in and waited for surgery to be completed to fly her to Abbott Northwestern Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU. There she was heavily sedated and placed on a ventilator until the following day. While the doctors were focusing on making sure she gets home to her babies, her IV blew/dislodged causing all of the meds/fluids to pool underneath her skin rather than being directly fed into her vein causing Compartment Syndrome. Due to this, she has had multiple surgeries/fasciotomies to try and relieve the pressure in hopes to prevent any nerve/muscle damage. She remained in the ICU at Abbott making sure her hemoglobin remained stable for 4 days.

Kristen has not seen Warren since delivery and is missing out on the first few days/weeks of bonding with her new baby boy and spending time together as a new family of 6. Jared has taken over the role of nighttime feedings, all the diaper changes, and getting the girls where they need to be like a champion dad would. He is torn with wanting to be at Kristen’s side the whole time, but knows his 4 kids need him home too. Eleanor and Lydia are loving being big sisters once again (especially to a baby brother) and Josephine is still trying to process everything that is going on with still being so young.

Kristen is not out of the woods yet and we have no idea how many more surgeries this will require, but what we do know is she has an amazing guardian angel above and a rock solid foundation here with Friends and Family who will help her, Jared, and the kids every step of the way.

Both Kristen and Jared ask that you respect their privacy and their family’s needs at this time. They ask that you continue to pray for their family and for Kristen’s recovery as she will have a long road ahead of her with many PT and OT appointments to try and regain strength and movement in her right arm and hand.

If you have any questions regarding any of this please reach out to Kristen’s longtime friend Heather Eiden or Jared’s sister Mandy Sturges and not the family directly.

All proceeds will be given directly to the family to cover anything they see fit during this time of need.