Strong Heart For Stacy

In late July 2021, Stacy was admitted to OSF St. Joseph in Bloomington, IL for an infection in her body. After a couple days she was released on antibiotics and told to follow up with her family physician. At the time, there wasn't any major concerns as we believed the antibiotics would treat the infection in its entirety.

During a routine checkup with her primary care physician, in early October, he noticed an irregularity in her heart. After an echocardiogram done at St. Margaret's in Spring Valley a few days later, Stacy received a call later that day from her doctor stating that she needed to get to a larger hospital immediately. We took her to Swedish American Hospital in Rockford. After initial testing at Swedish American, it was discovered that the infection in her body was in her blood and this infection had caused vegetation and destroyed 2 of her heart valves. The cardiologist diagnosed her with a 4+ Aortic Valve Leak and informed her that she would need open heart surgery to have the 2 valves replaced (the Aortic valve and Mitral valve). However, due to the infection, they could not perform the surgery because of the low odds of surviving the operation until the infection was under control. Another newly found issue is that she has a fatty liver that is causing thinning blood and low coagulation that makes the heart surgery more difficult. She was then referred to a cardiologist and hepatologist at Loyola University Hospital in Chicago. After a week, Stacy was released from Swedish American and given multiple appointments with the specialists. During this time Stacy’s condition was progressively getting worse.

She finally had an appointment with the hepatologist on Tuesday, Nov. 16th. He did a blood draw and formed a plan for the next month. The next day, Stacy received a phone call from the hepatologist stating she needed to get to Loyola immediately. She was admitted with a dangerously low sodium level and STILL an infection in her body. There has been no progress as in to identifying the source of the infection. Stacy is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Loyola University Hospital. They are working on getting her sodium level up and continuing an IV antibiotic. Needless to say, medical bills have started coming in and with Stacy unable to work the financial pressures are piling up. If anyone is able to help offset some of these medical costs and living expenses, we would be forever grateful. Most importantly, we ask for your prayers. Prayers that her sodium levels increase, her infection clears up and she is healthy enough to receive her life saving valve replacement. Thank you all and God Bless!