Fighting for my life due to a dentist’s negligence.

Hi everyone!

Truly feeling exhausted and wanted to share our story for some who have asked. Some of you may know me from the Zipper Club. I’m 36 with 15 y.o. triplets. Before all this began, my husband and I were trying to have a baby but had several miscarriages, my first baby was stillborn and we had twins who passed shortly after birth. I was only 33 when I went to the dentist for what I thought was a cavity in 2014, all of that changed and our hopes for having a child together were lost forever.

I had my first OHS with AVR & MVR on August 7, 2014 after a dentist extracted an abscessed tooth without prophylactic antibiotics, despite being specifically asked about prophylactic treatment. The infection immediately entered my bloodstream and even though I took the post extraction antibiotics as directed immediately, it took just six days for my lungs to fill with fluid and my heart to fail, destroying both my aortic and mitral valves.

Less than a year later, I had a UTI that caused me to go septic in a few days time (due to my compromised immune system). I had a fungal and bacterial infection in my blood. My organs all began shutting down, I was taken off Coumadin and had a stroke, had to have a tracheotomy, a PEG tube, spent almost 3 months in a coma, had to learn to walk, eat, bathe, write and cook all over again. Then my mechanical heart valves had to be replaced with bovine valves, requiring an 11 hour surgery and the CT Surgeon had to physically patch sections of my heart. I had a 10% chance of survival, was transported by Flight for Life four times and required countless blood transfusions. The University here neglected to tell my cardiologist, pulmonologist, PCP, endocrinologist and infectious disease doctors that I’d require lifelong antifungal therapy because the mass that developed in my right lung contained a ‘ball of fungal tissue’.

In January of this year, I began feeling flu-ish again, leg/ankle swelling, severe chest pain and could hear my heart beatimg in my ears. We went to the hospital, they treated my immediate symptoms and the brilliant e.r. physician followed a gut instinct to draw cultures. 2 days later the hospital called and said I needed to come back immediately because the cultures came back positive for a fungal infection in my blood and it’s life threatening. Since then, I’ve developed a severe aortic valve leak, multiple murmurs, increased PVCs, very low BP, high fevers, coughing up blood and a bacterial infection in my blood from the PICC line used to administer my daily antifungal & antibiotic treatments that take up 3.5 hours EVERY day. The infections have destroyed my valves once again, I’m on 4 liters of supplemental oxygen and I am dying. No one here will operate on me for a third time in 2.5 years because they feel I won’t “survive to get off the table”. By the grace of God and a wonderful member of the Zipper Club, we’ve found Dr. Dearani at the Rochester, MN Mayo Clinic. He’s willing to treat me and perform the third OHS and valve replacements. He’s our last shot at me surviving this. The last month and a half have been spent desperately trying to get the funds earned (through my custom candles and body care items) and raised (through a GoFundMe set up by a dear friend) to travel to the clinic and provide lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. for myself and my family. Dr. Dearani told us to expect up to a 2 month stay in Rochester while he tries to save my life.

While I’m genuinely grateful that Dr. Dearani is willing to try, I’m SO angry, tired, sad and frustrated. The daily treatments have nasty side effects and generally made you feel like you’ve been run over by a dump truck then pushed through a trash compactor. I’ve lost almost all my hair, am covered in scars, especially my neck (tracheotomy, central lines, placement of an external pacemaker). We’ve submitted everything we need to so the wait is on for transfer approval of my insurance by the Mayo Clinic. Our local newspaper ran a story on us and a local news station is considering featuring our story but it still feels like it’s taking FOREVER to raise these funds and get acceptance from insurance. We are literally racing the clock and each new symptom or fever is terrifying.

My will, organ donation and advance directives are complete. We’ve had “the talk” about my prognosis with kids and family and I’ve come to accept the reality BUT am still fighting with all I’ve got left to beat this for a third time so I can watch my children grow up to be happy,successful, productive, self-sufficient adults with full lives.

Dying honestly doesn’t scare me but the thought of leaving my babies and husband behind literally takes the breath from me. I wish I had a magic wand to fix this, get the approval and funds we need to get this surgery done and move on with life. I desperately want to overcome this and be looking back, with everyone I love, saying how we never thought we’d make it through but we did!! ❤

If only the love I have for my family could keep me alive, I’d never die! I’m NOT ready, or willing, to say goodbye to my precious babies yet!! I need them just as much, if not more than, as they need me. Please, please pray, send positive vibes, fairy dust (lol whatever your preference or belief system) that we get this approval and the funds we need before it’s too late!!

Thank you for letting me share my story! Wishing ALL of you well, love and hugs! K

The article in our newspaper can be found here: