Thank you, family and friends, for visiting this page and being an integral part in the support of Barbara (Theisen) Eller as she begins the process of undergoing a heart transplant.

The purpose of this fundraiser page is to provide a means of encouragement and support to Barbara while she undergoes a heart transplant and the recovery process thereafter. The root meaning of encouragement is to “take heart” or essentially “to strengthen the heart”. We appreciate your support and prayers to strengthen her heart during this time.

We have also started a Facebook Group (Take Heart Barbara Facebook Group ) to provide updates during her transplant recovery period, in addition to this page.

The financial support requested on this page is specifically for Barbara to help offset the costs of her recovery and rehabilitation from the heart surgery. There is no “specific total cost” of what this entails, but her recovery period will incur costs of housing, meals, caregiver support, separate from her other financial commitments such as mortgage, insurance, etc. This recovery period could extend up to a period of 6 months.

Photo 1 - Family Photo from August 2021 (Barbara in front of tree, smiling like she just did something suspicious)

Background

In August 2012, Barbara was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure after experiencing difficulty in breathing. The Cardiologist described that her lungs had filled with fluid due to the heart’s reduced capacity to pump blood throughout her body. If she were a car, she was firing only on 2 cylinders when she had the capacity to do all 6. There were no warning signs or earlier symptoms prior to this, nor was there any clear culprit as to what caused this. Although the cardiologists would try many different types of treatment, the painful reality is that these treatments would only stretch out the weakening of the heart, and the penultimate treatment would be a heart transplant, the “Big Game”.

For her, it was hard to believe that at 50 years old she would be diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. She had just completed a sprint triathlon in Mt Shasta 5 years earlier. Now she was tiring out on hikes with any incline. Just prior, she was feeling healthy and ornery as ever, keeping up with her grandkids, son and daughter-in-law, sisters and brother, mother and family and friends. Now she was slowing down and couldn’t blame it on the furnace that we know as “summer in Redding.” This new reality hit her hard and left her in shock…but it didn’t leave her alone and without support.

Over a half million people are diagnosed with congestive heart failure every year in the U.S., and somehow Barbara’s condition caught the eye of one of the best heart failure programs in the U.S. – The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Advanced Heart Failure program. She worked closely with world-class cardiologists and experts providing her care, treatment, all preparing her for the “Big Game”. They have worked with her these last 9 years performing monitoring, providing treatment, slowing the progression, while also helping her to realize that this isn’t a death notice but perhaps an invitation to dig deep, to identify what motivates her to get up every morning, to put one foot in front of the other and to move forward in hope and courage. This diagnosis made her aware of her own mortality while inviting her to LIVE.

Her involvement with UCSF included regular multi-day checkups, occurring every 3 months, where they would poke, prod and push her to see how that heart of hers is performing. There were seasons where her heart was observed to be degrading, then plateauing, and repeat. There was one season that her heart performance improved, but the harsh reality is that with congestive heart failure, the heart eventually fails. In November 2021, the UCSF staff observed that her heart condition was rapidly degrading, and that she was going to be admitted to the hospital in order to move forward to the “Big Game”. After a short temporary discharge to spend Thanksgiving with family, she was re-admitted to UCSF on December 8th, her 61st birthday and now moving forward with a heart transplant.

Photo 2 - Barbara with Mom Sherry and Sister Sharon at Whiskeytown Lake, June 2018.

The Journey Ahead

A heart transplant surgery can occur in 6 hours, but the overall process takes several months. Typically, it involves a waiting period of several weeks to months for a heart, then 2 weeks of post-transplant recovery in the ICU, followed by 6 to 12 weeks of recovery and monitoring before being discharged and allowed to go home. Currently, she is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), getting prepared for the surgery while awaiting a heart. Now a heart isn’t something you can buy with Amazon Prime and get it with 2- day delivery. This brings about a whole other critical and emotional aspect to this process. The realization that the conclusion of one life is the necessary catalyst to sustaining another’s life sits heavy with Barbara, moving her to pre-emptively pray for the comfort and peace of the family of that future donor.

After her transplant surgery and the recovery in the ICU, she will be recovering in an apartment that the hospital uses for short-term housing. This recovery period will require a full-time caregiver to assist her with meals, travel to appointments at UCSF, and overall daily support. The role of caregiver is a critical component to the recovery and shows the benefit of having surrounded one’s life with a network of family and friends. Currently, for Barbara’s recovery, family and some friends are planning to do 1-2 week rotations to serve as caregiver.

Photo 3 - Barbara with her 4 grandkids (Asher, Silas, Amidee, and Dayvanee) at the Sundial Bridge, Redding.

How Can I Support

Mail:

UCSF Medical Center

c/o Barbara Eller, ICU

505 Parnassus Ave., Box 0208

San Francisco, CA 94143

Important: Write “Patient Mail” on the lower right corner of the envelope.

Electronically:

To send a message to a patient via the Web, go to www.ucsfhealth.org/message.

The message will be printed out and delivered by one of the volunteers.

Encouragement for All:

From the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi:

Do not be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 4:6-7

Photo 4 - Barbara and son Mike

Bonus Thoughts