Heartfelt Hope for Kim

On August 31, 2018, Kim Leighton, a 41 year old mother of three suffered a massive heart attack. In the emergency room, it was decided she must have an emergency heart catheterization. It revealed she had 100% blockage in two arteries and 80% in another. This heart attack left her heart severely impaired. Kim stayed in Cardiovascular Intensive Care for 5 weeks fighting for her life. She underwent several critical procedures to stabilize her. Most of her organs were compromised due to the extent of the heart attack. Luckily her brain was not one of them. The explanation for this cardiac event in someone this young was attributed to the radiation she received while being treated for Hodgkin’s Disease when she was 21 years old (1998) and again in 2001, when she suffered a recurrence of the cancer. 

Sadly, these same radiation treatments had also contributed to Kim being diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago (2012),right after the birth of her second child. The treatment for this cancer was a double mastectomy.  At this time, Kim and her husband John had a 5 year old son, Charles, and a 3 month old son, Sanders. Kim had to quit working at this time. 

Five days after her heart attack Kim was not responding and it was decided that her only chance was to do open heart surgery to implant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). A LVAD is a mechanical pump implanted in the chest and attached to the heart to take the blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body. There is a cable that exits the body to batteries which operate the pump. 

Did I mention that Kim and John had their third son, Will in July of 2017. At the time of her heart attack, John was left to care for three boys ages 11, 6 and 14 months. He survived with the dedicated support from his mother and sister taking care of the boys at home. John and Kim's mother were her unwavering support during her 6 weeks plus stay in the hospital. 

After many prayers and one machine/tube after another being taken away, Kim "graduated" to a regular room in the Heart Hospital. Then at 6 weeks and change, Kim went home to her family. John turned "nurse" and learned to change the dressing on her drive line and assist with preparing for showers, since Kim cannot get the electrical drive line (cable) in contact with water. Her oldest had started middle school and the middle child was now in first grade. She reintroduced herself to the 14 month old and only wished she could lean over pick him up and give him the biggest hug; not yet. 

Kim now had her own nutritionist, physical therapist, pharmacists, social worker and many nurses and doctors who were members of the LVAD Clinic, where she had to visit regularly. Between Kim's discharge from the hospital in October until February she was hospitalized 4 more times for different complications of a "sick" heart. 

In January, Kim and John went to Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC, for a week to be worked up to see if she could qualify to be a candidate for a heart transplant.They were elated and most grateful to be accepted onto the heart transplant list. Originally, doctors thought she would be able to stay in Columbia with her family until a heart became available. However, in early February her doctors realized that the right side of her heart had also been severely damaged from the radiation and subsequent heart attack making the need for a heart transplant urgent.

 Kim was moved to Duke by ambulance on February 18, 2019 to await a heart and is currently at a level three status on the transplant list. There is no way to know how long it will take to find the right heart for Kim and while she waits at Duke, her husband, John, and her three young sons, Charles, Sanders, and Will remain in Columbia, more than three hours away. Once again, John's mother is staying with the boys and between John, his sister, Liz and his mother, LeAnne, they are trying to maintain the new normal for the family in Columbia, SC. 

 The Leightons have been blessed to have friends who have provided an apartment in Durham so that the family may visit frequently. Thankfully, this generosity has made it possible for her mother, Sissy, to stay nearby during the week, and John comes every weekend, bringing the boys as often as possible. Kim will also be able to stay at the apartment  after the transplant while she is receiving extensive care, including weekly biopsies.

 Kim is receiving wonderful care at Duke and is thankful for each member of the medical team taking care of her, but the separation from her family has been very difficult for all. Kim and John, along with their family and many friends are all trying to juggle to keep things as “normal” as possible for the boys.

 Unfortunately, the costs associated with the extensive medical treatment Kim has received (and will continue to receive) along with expenses of travel and living away from home,  are exorbitant. Their insurance plan does not cover any of the costs associated with travel and lodging expenses.  

 If you feel led to financially assist the Leighton family at this time, please know that all funds will go directly to medical bills and high monthly expenses, including medications that Kim will be on for the rest of her life. There is no way anyone can plan for this type of medical catastrophe. Cancer three times was nothing compared to this journey. 

 The Leighton family is extremely grateful for all of the kindness and generosity shown to them over the past seven months. The meals, cards, gracious gifts, visits and love mean so much to the family, and they know that they could not be on this journey without the community of love and prayers, which have sustained them. Their faith is keeping them facing forward to better days, and that too has been undergirded by so many kind people.

 As Kim looks toward the transplant and continued care, we ask for you to pray for God to provide the right heart in His perfect timing for Kim. She especially asks that you pray for the family of the donor heart. Having learned so much about the transplant process, she would also like to suggest that you prayerfully consider being an organ donor yourself.

 
Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.