Support Esther's Third Heart Transplant Journey
Friends, Family, and Community,
I'm reaching out today with an important personal update and a heartfelt request for support. As many of you know, I have been navigating serious heart issues, and the next step in my medical journey is my third heart transplant. This journey has been long, marked by challenges, including recently learning that St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis felt uncomfortable to proceed with the transplant there.
Following this setback, the situation required an urgent transfer, and I was brought via STAT EMS helicopter from Indianapolis to Vanderbilt here in Nashville. Thankfully, hope remains strong as I have can now begin the eligibility process at Vanderbilt, which is wonderful news but also means navigating out-of-state requirements as Indiana residents. While this presents a clear path forward toward the transplant I need, it also comes with significant prerequisites we must meet before I can be officially listed.
More than anything in this world, I want to continue living for my two precious children, my 12-year-old son and my 11-year-old daughter. They are my driving force, my reason to fight through every obstacle. This transplant isn't just about my health; it's about being here for them, watching them grow, and sharing many more years together.
Part of Vanderbilt's process for eligibility, especially for out-of-state patients, involves ensuring we have the necessary support system and financial stability for the extensive pre-transplant requirements and the essential post-transplant recovery period here in Nashville, which typically lasts 6-8 weeks or potentially longer. This includes demonstrating the ability to cover essential living and travel expenses for my family while they relocate temporarily to support me.
Furthermore, since my husband will need to take substantial unpaid time off work to be my dedicated, round-the-clock caregiver during this critical period, the hospital guidelines emphasize the importance of ensuring our financial stability despite the loss of income. This measure helps guarantee he can remain fully focused on supporting my recovery without the immediate pressure to return to work. Critically, this ensures I will not be left alone during this intensive healing period, which is something I deeply wish to avoid.
Demonstrating that we have the necessary resources and support structure to navigate these requirements is a crucial part of Vanderbilt's process before I can be officially added to the transplant list. While every situation is unique and timelines can vary, based on my two previous transplant experiences, the waiting period averaged about two months after I became active on the list.
While we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming generosity and support received thus far which helped meet the initial requirements, the overall financial impact of this journey continues to present significant challenges. The costs associated with the extended stay in Nashville, my husband's essential unpaid leave, ongoing medical needs, travel, and maintaining our home back in Indiana are substantial. We have explored options and confirmed that, unfortunately, we don't meet the specific criteria for the hospital's internal financial assistance programs designed to cover these types of associated costs.
Therefore, I'm humbly reaching out to you, my cherished community, friends, and family, hoping you might consider continuing to support us as we navigate the extensive costs associated with this life-saving transplant and recovery. Your contribution, no matter the size, directly helps alleviate the ongoing financial burdens. It allows my husband to be the caregiver I need and enables me to focus all my energy first on the wait, and then on healing and returning home to my children.
I am deeply grateful for any support you can offer, whether it's a donation, sharing this message, or simply keeping our family in your prayers. Thank you for understanding, for your compassion, and for considering helping me on this vital journey toward renewed health and more time with my beloved family.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Esther & Herbert
