This Mommy's Heart - My PPCM Story - Time with Wes

Healthy to Heart Failure

by

New to This Mommy’s Heart? Check out my story from the beginning here – My PPCM Story

That night my daughter slept like the perfect baby she is and only woke up a few times to breastfeed. The next morning, I remember thinking that I was feeling better but it was probably just wishful thinking.

The hospital is on post so my husband went to the gate to help my parents in with his military ID. The cardiologist and about 10 residents then proceeded to fill my room. At that point, he asked if I wanted to wait for my husband to get back to review my results. I told him to go for it because I always have the mentality of ripping off the bandaid. This wasn’t the time for that way of thinking.

So, there I was alone in my hospital room holding my newborn when I was told about my life-changing diagnosis. Honestly, this is where everything starts to get fuzzy. There are only a few things I remember after this:

  • The doctor told me “You can never, ever, ever have another baby”.
  • Chris and my parents walking in and me and the room of residents staring at them silently.
  • My husband breaking down after all the doctors left when my mom asked what all they had told us meant. I comforted him and told him I had had a good life if this is where it had to end. I didn’t know what else to do.

Luckily, for the purposes of this blog, my husband took meticulous notes every day of my hospital stay. I feel it is important to do my part to help spread awareness about PPCM. Knowledge is power. If sharing my story saves even just one mommy, it will be worth it.

Now for a bit of medical terminology regarding my test results:

  • Brain-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) test – almost 11,000
  • This blood test measures the levels of the BNP protein that is made by the heart and blood vessels.
      Your BNP levels are higher when you are in heart failure. Normal is <125.
  • Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE) – 18% ejection fraction (EF)
    • A TTE is an ultrasound of the internal parts of the heart.
    • The EF is the percentage of blood that is pumped out of the heart’s ventricles during each contraction. A normal EF is between 50% and 70%.

I was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after they gave me these results. This is when I had to separate from my daughter and end my plan for breastfeeding. I love breastfeeding my babies so this was extremely hard for me.

This Mommy's Heart - My PPCM Story - One of the last feeds
November 22nd at 5:22 AM. One of the last times I got to breastfeed my daughter.
This Mommy's Heart - My PPCM Story - Time with Wes
Spending time with my son before I had to go to the ICU

Several things happened next. I was taken to the catheterization laboratory (cath lab) which is an exam room with equipment that can show the arteries and chambers of the heart. There they performed a right heart catheterization in which they placed a Swan-Ganz used to measure the heart’s function, blood flow and pressures in and around the heart. There was also an arterial line placed (a-line) which is used for measuring blood pressure directly and in real-time. The cardiologist was able to use the information from these tests to determine the severity of my heart failure and send that information to the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) so I could be transferred to their hospital which was much better suited for the severity of my condition.

This Mommy's Heart - My PPCM Story - Resting
Resting after a ton of tests

They started me on dobutamine which is an injection that can help treat heart failure and help the heart pump blood. Next, I was literally swaddled like a newborn, placed in the back of an ambulance and sent to UWMC around midnight where the real fun began.

This Mommy's Heart - My PPCM Story - On My Way To UWMC

279 thoughts on “Healthy to Heart Failure”

  2. Jen your strength and courage are amazing. You inspire me to be strong. You are my hero! You are my heart. Love you always. Mom

    Reply

  84. À l’heure actuelle, les logiciels de contrôle à distance sont principalement utilisés dans le domaine bureautique, avec des fonctions de base telles que le transfert de fichiers à distance et la modification de documents.

    Reply

  220. Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search
    Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some
    targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success.
    If you know of any please share. Kudos! You can read similar
    blog here: Najlepszy sklep

    Reply

  223. Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted
    keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.
    Kudos! You can read similar article here:
    Dobry sklep

    Reply

  237. Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some
    targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
    If you know of any please share. Appreciate it! You can read similar text here:
    Backlink Portfolio

    Reply

  240. Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
    I’m trying to get my site to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
    If you know of any please share. Thank you!
    You can read similar art here: Link Building

    Reply

  269. PBN sites
    We will create a structure of self-owned blog network sites!

    Benefits of our private blog network:

    We carry out everything SO THAT Google does not understand THAT this is A PBN network!!!

    1- We purchase web domains from different registrars

    2- The primary site is hosted on a VPS hosting (VPS is high-speed hosting)

    3- The rest of the sites are on different hostings

    4- We designate a unique Google ID to each site with confirmation in Search Console.

    5- We design websites on WordPress, we don’t use plugins with the help of which Trojans penetrate and through which pages on your websites are generated.

    6- We never reiterate templates and use only distinct text and pictures

    We do not work with website design; the client, if wished, can then edit the websites to suit his wishes

    Reply

  272. PBN sites
    We shall create a network of PBN sites!

    Benefits of our private blog network:

    We perform everything so Google DOES NOT grasp that THIS IS A privately-owned blog network!!!

    1- We acquire domain names from various registrars

    2- The principal site is hosted on a VPS hosting (VPS is rapid hosting)

    3- Other sites are on various hostings

    4- We allocate a individual Google account to each site with verification in Search Console.

    5- We design websites on WordPress, we don’t utilise plugins with aided by which Trojans penetrate and through which pages on your websites are generated.

    6- We never reiterate templates and use only exclusive text and pictures

    We refrain from work with website design; the client, if wanted, can then edit the websites to suit his wishes

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jen’s Mom Cancel reply