Endocarditis & Open Heart Surgery
Thank you all for holding me up in your prayers! I was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, September 11th. I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve on Friday, September 13th. I came home on Thursday, September 19th.
Although I was born with the heart condition, “bicuspid aortic valve,” it never gave me any problems and it was regularly monitored. My heart echos always made surgery seem like it would be 20-30 years from now.
In August 2019, I developed “pneumonia-like” symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, a little fluid in my lungs, and a cough that wouldn’t go away. It progressed to where I couldn’t sleep peacefully at night in the bed because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I went to prompt care, received antibiotics, and was advised to make a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist “for safety’s sake.” A heart echo was scheduled for September 17th, but I was not getting any better. My mom messaged my cardiologist and my husband called prompt care to also send a message, and we had a heart echo the following day. On September 11th, my heart echo showed that I had major leakage caused by “endocarditis.”
Somehow (and we’ll probably never know how) bacteria got in my blood. It completely destroyed my aortic valve, caused a hole in my aorta, and a tear in my mitral valve. The doctor said that all of this had probably transpired in the last month. I was having “acute heart failure.” It was urgent for me to have the open heart surgery to replace the aortic valve, but they had to pump me full of antibiotics so my surgery wouldn’t be as risky. But, we couldn’t wait too long for surgery because a fragment of my aortic valve could have broken off and caused me a stroke. It was scary news to receive! At the age of 31, I did not know how ill I was, and I could have died if this would have gone untreated or been put off. I am so thankful to The Lord, though, because I see how He was working through every family member, every doctor, and every nurse to save my life.
I still have quite the road to travel for recovery. It is enough in itself to heal up from open heart surgery, but I am also taking multiple IV antibiotic infusions every day to prevent infections from getting on my new, mechanical aortic valve (or anywhere else in my body). These treatments will last for a minimum of 6-weeks. Currently, the percentage of my heart function is not as high as we would like. But we are doing our best to get me stronger, and I know that nothing is impossible with God!
I miss getting to play my musical instruments and sing. (I haven’t gotten clearance from the doctor on that yet, so I haven’t even been able to pick a little tune on my cozy, little mandolin while curled up in the easy chair.) I miss getting to go out to my Family Fold gigs and teach my music students. But my spirit is with y’all, and I ask that your prayers would stay with me as I go through this season of my life. Thank you!
God bless you, and always remember... GOD LOVES YOU!
Eryn Eubanks
9/26/19
