Hi Everyone, I’m Susan. I'm 37, and I’m the mother of five children. My youngest is three years old and on the spectrum. I am not ready to go yet.

I don't feel comfortable doing this kind of thing, but my life is on the line. Thank you for reading my story.

In August 2024, I was losing energy every day. I began to swell in my belly and feet, while also starting to sleep pretty much all day and all night. I was not able to regulate my body temperature, and at 90° in the house, I was shivering. I knew something was wrong, but I thought it must be Flu, Covid or RSV.

The following week, I began having difficulty breathing. I was too weak to roll over in bed. Reaching the bathroom was agonizing. I knew something was really, really wrong, so I went to the emergency room. There, it was discovered I had double pneumonia, pleurisy, and a bacterial infection in my blood that was very serious and dangerous. Then I learned my heart’s tricuspid valve was destroyed by the infection.

I underwent tricuspid valve replacement. While recovering, I took a downturn and my heart began to fail. Surgeons implanted a pacemaker two weeks after my initial cardiac open-heart surgery. I was released in October

and thought I was on the mend.

In January, the infection returned. Not only had it returned to my blood, but also to my valve, and my pacemaker. I was admitted back to the hospital on January 30, and I'm still here now on months long antibiotic therapy, with the goal of being well enough to face another valve replacement and pacemaker replacement.

My circumstances and odds of survival are much more compromised now. I will need to travel to the Houston Medical Center for lifesaving medical care. I’m scared, but I am fighting to live.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I'm trying to get well and I must seek support while I'm unable to work. Anything would help me and my children.

May you be healthy and blessed.

Thank you.