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| Experimental heart device means five more years for Waseca woman |
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Posted: Monday, April 19, 2010 4:47 pm
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At night, Carlson charges the batteries and runs her Heart Mate with electricity.
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By RUTH ANN HAGER
Staff Writer
WASECA — Kay Carlson hasn’t had a chest pain since July 30 when a mechanical device called a Heart Mate took over the operation of her heart.
One of 270 patients in a University of Minnesota study in this region and the only person in southern Minnesota with the device, at 72, the Waseca resident is a “destination” recipient.
“That means I will not be getting a heart. I don’t want one,” she said. “I’ve had a good life. Let a heart go to someone younger.”
What she did get, Carlson believes, is another five years to spend with her family, with enough energy to make life enjoyable again.
After nine heart attacks, 15 congestive heart failure diagnoses, 14 stints and three pacemaker defibrillators over 10 years, the Waterville native was turned down for both stem cell and bone marrow transplants because of her health.
When her doctors at Abbott Northwestern Hospital determined that Carlson’s “window of opportunity” was closing, they transferred her to the University of Minnesota, where she was accepted in a study for the Heart Mate. At that point, only 15 percent of Carlson’s blood was flowing through her body.
Not alone
To be part of the program, it was mandatory that patients in the study had someone with them, someone who was committed to the program and to caring for the Heart Mate recipient at home.
So for five months prior to her implant, Carlson and her housemate, Bobbi, lived in an apartment near the University hospital with other candidates and their families. Carlson said those five months were the “best experience I’ve ever had” because everyone on their floor was going through a similar university program.
On July 30, 2009, she received a Heart Mate 2, a smaller version of a mechanical device that runs on either batteries or electricity.
Following surgery she spent five days in an induced coma and a week more in intensive care. She had her own coordinator, an international team of doctors and wonderful care, she said.
“Putting this in has changed me dramatically,” she said about the Heart Mate.
She remained in the hospital until Dec. 29, when her doctors allowed her leave for her mother’s funeral. In March she was discharged, returning once more for treatment of pneumonia.
How it works
The Heart Mate, inserted into the left ventricle of Carlson’s heart, revolves 8,600 times a minute, runs on batteries, which she carries in the pocket of the vest she wears. At night she charges the batteries and hooks herself up to electricity.
She can’t be in the same room with an operating vacuum cleaner. She can’t take showers or baths or go out in a boat. She can’t lift anything over three pounds, raise her arms up over her head or have salt in her diet. She hates “being on the cords” but she knows her limits and rests between tasks.
But, with the increased blood flow, Carlson’s color is back and her pills were cut from 45 to 14 a day. She can shop in a wheelchair, walk to and from her mailbox, cook and clean her house.
And her son and daughter-in-law, Gregg and Darla Carlson, along with her housemate, help with her day to day household tasks and medical care.
Five more years
She has to be careful and move slowly, but Carlson feels she has added at least five years to her life, five years that she intends to enjoy, especially with her five-year-old granddaughter, Courtney.
And the day-to-day fight is getting easier and easier, she said.
Carlson and a University of Minnesota Hospital representative recently met with 35 Waseca County first responders — anyone who might come in contact with her during an emergency.
The city is obligated to provide four hours of generated power should the utilities go out.
Emergency room personnel at the Waseca Medical Center have received training on what to do and who to call if she arrives there for care.
She has Medicare and Blue Cross, Blue Shield and the study picks up what insurance doesn’t. If she had to pay, she would be looking at as much as a half a million dollars in medical bills.
In addition to the implant, she survived colon surgery, a stroke, a fall, and a bacterial infection but Carlson “was not about to give up.”
That’s the message she has for others.
“Don’t be afraid of experimental procedures. A lot of people were afraid to try. But when you’re at the end of the line, try something,” said Carlson.
“If this lasts long enough that Courtney can remember me, I will be happy,” she said. “And even if I don’t get anything out of it, it may help others.”
Ruth Ann Hager is at 507- 837-5446 or rhager@wasecacountynews.com. |
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