Patrick's Heart Failure and Stroke Recovery

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read the following. Our names are Mary and Kevin Lenti, and we are the immediate family of Patrick Lenti. Many of you reading this know Patrick well, but may not be familiar with the events that have transpired over the last few months. Due to an extended hospital visit that spanned nearly two and half months, an inpatient course of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and ongoing therapy to this day, Patrick and his family have not been overly public with this information. However, due to Patrick achieving several important milestones in his recovery, as well as his desire to start beginning a return to his normal life, we have decided that now is the perfect time to share this awful, terrifying, yet ultimately hopeful and inspiring tale.

Last year, in the weeks preceding late October and early November, Patrick began feeling quite sick. With each passing week, the illness got worse. Due to the concern of his family, Patrick's girlfriend, friends, and co-workers, it was recommended Patrick should visit the hospital. As it would turn out, that ended up being a life saving decision. Patrick's girlfriend drove him to the emergency room on November 16th 2022. Unfortunately, Patrick did not leave the hospital until January 26th 2023.

On November 18th, our family received a terrifying phone call in the middle of the night that shocked us and threw our lives upside down. The hospital was contacting us to inform us that we should return to the hospital quickly, because it may be time to say our final farewell to our brother.

On Patrick's initial examination at the hospital, the Doctors discovered he had over 5 blood clots through his body (including his heart,lungs, brain, and leg), causing his heart to beat harder and out of sync. It was explained to us that the measure of reading the strength of the pumping capabilities of the heart is called the ejection fraction. A normal reading would be 50 percent. Patrick's was 8 percent. Patrick was in the midst of acute heart failure.

Twice in the following days, Patrick slipped into cardiac arrest. The first time it took 10 minutes to revive him. The second time, against all odds, due to the tireless and heroic efforts of the doctors and nurses, after 45 minutes, Patrick was resuscitated. It was decided at this time that Patrick would be placed on a life saving heart and lung device called an EMCO. This device would control his lung and heart while he was in an medically induced coma.

During the implementation of the ECMO device, Patrick's doctors discovered a new and worrying result. Patrick had now suffered a series of strokes. Unfortunately the damage of the strokes could not be diagnosed until, if and when Patrick woke up.

After three weeks on the ECMO, it was explained to us that only 50 to 60 percent of patients placed to this device for an extended time, will actually survive. However, the time had come to remove the EMCO and hope that Patrick's heart was able to beat on its own. Amazingly and shockingly to the delight of his family and doctors, his heart was able to begin its function without mechanical assistance, albeit weakly.

Patrick's healing and recovery had finally started, but it was no way close to being finished. The damage from strokes was drastic. Patrick had severe right side weakness, and had developed a form of brain damage called aphasia. The aphasia did not impair Patricks cognitive function, but severely affected his ability to speak and write. The damage left Patrick in a state where he could think clearly and rationally, but was not able to speak the words correctly.

Patrick spent another 2 weeks in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit before being downgraded to a regular hospital room. When his doctors were comfortable that he was stable he was then discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation center. It was there that Patrick spent the next 3 weeks partaking in three different types of rehab (physical,occupational, and speech), 5 times a week, 3 times a day.

Thankfully, Patrick was finally able to come home in early February, just before his 36th birthday. At this time however, Patrick was limited to movement with a walker or cane. He also still had severe problems with his speech.

And this brings us to the now. We are tearfully happy to report that Patrick has made what, his doctors and therapists commonly tell us, is a near miraculous recovery. With the help of Patricks doctors and therapists, the support of family and friends, and Patrick’s tireless dedication to recovery, his prognosis has improved significantly. Not only is he walking without the use of a cane, but a source of comfort for him comes from taking long walks, and riding his exercise bike, for miles a day. Patrick has managed to lose over 50lbs, and he also spends his time creating and cooking low sodium recipes. Patrick’s speech has returned to a nearly normal level. Patrick insisted to his therapists and doctors that he would play golf before year's end, and was met with a bit of doubt. In what Patrick may consider his most crowning achievement several weeks ago, Patrick played a full 18 holes with a close friend.

While Patrick's heart remains weak, just this week, we had a great visit with Patricks Heart Failure team, in which they expressed amazement and optimism with Patrick's recovery and prognosis. They were truly stunned to witness the progress. In fact, everyone who has witnessed this trek has been amazed and inspired.

That being said, there has been a major downfall, which is one of a financial nature. Patrick has been out of work since November, and his bills continue to add up. There are several unpaid hospital bills amounting to over 23,000 dollars. Unpaid bills from his time in the hospital are hoping to be taken care of, and hopefully disability will soon kick in. However, these processes are slow, and in the meantime, Patrick is continuing to spend money, while not having any income returning. After a successful surgery to place a pacemaker, Patrick was finally allowed to resume driving. Unfortunately, it has just been discovered that Pat's car needs several major repairs.

This is why we now turn to Patrick's friends and family, anyone moved by this amazing story, or just anyone who would like to help, to please donate whatever you are comfortable with. At a risk of sounding cliche, literally every dollar counts. Patrick faced several death several times and dealt with many setbacks. However, against all odds is still here and still fighting. All we want is for him to concentrate on his ongoing recovery without the burden of worrying about his finances.

Once again, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for reading this, and thank you for any help you can offer.