Melissa Update 1/4/15 As many of you know, three days after Melissas arrival home we had to take her to the ER via ambulance due to a high and unexplained heart rate, intense pain (which she expresses as facial expressions and agitated movement), and occasionally, too low blood pressure. It looks like we finally have an explanastion of why Melissa’s heart rate has been so high the past week. She does not have any infection. Melissa has a cardiac disease called Takatsubo cardiomyopathy. This is a stress induced disorder of the heart where part of the hearts muscle becomes suddenly weak and is pumping less blood volume than it should. This causes the heart rate to rise. The disorder is also known as broken-heart syndrom because it is a kind of acute cardiac failure found in women who have lost their spouse (originally this was recognized by doctors in Japan). The condition is painful, as it is a kind of heart attack, although when treated, not deadly. Melissa has likely been experiencing a great deal of chest pain over the past few week or so, even prior to her discharge from Kentfield. In my opinion, broken heart syndrome is about the only disease that makes sense for Melissa. My sleepy wife has had to endure so much this year and has had to miss out on her new family in ways would break her heart. I wish she had an injury that could be repaired by a transplant. I would gladly give her my liver, lungs, heart, or brain to give her a fair chance and being with her family. While Melissa is at CRMC we are ensuring that Melissa’s given constant pain management while the doctors try to slow her heartbeat and give her heart some time to rest and recover to normal functioning. Melissa is also being given beta blockers and they may consider additional measures if her her cardiomyopathy does not improve over the next week. The condition, although appearing grave is very survivable and Melissa should be fine in a few weeks. Fortunately, Melissas mother works as an NP at CRMC and is able to check in on her from time to time throughout the day, so there is not the same sense of having the family pulled apart. It may be that the stressor that caused this condition was an infection that she had, but it also could be the stress of leaving Kentfield, the stress of the chaotic discharge, or even missing the holidays which, for Melissa, would have been a profoundly painful experience even when healthy. If anything, it suggests that Melissa may be more aware of what has been happening than we give her credit for and it is a good reminder for all of us to maintain a supportive and as stress free an environment for her as possible. Fresnos Community Regional Medical Center is giving Melissa very thorough and comprehensive medical care. It is a teaching hospital that is part of UCSF and is excellent. Melissa is in the Neuroscience unit and being seen by internal medicine, neurology, and cardiology. I believe that she is in very capable hands and we look forward to her coming home to us, again. Thank you to all that have helped us with bringing Melissa back home, and who are now, again helping us while we try to get her back home once more. With gratitude, Brian Lande (Melissas Husband and Wests Dad)
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:54:02 +0000
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