Quick action
at MGH saves a
young mother’s life
By Randy Deffenbaugh
A LifeChanging
Instant
I
t w as supposed to be a happy time for
Jessica Harris,a new mother.A fter the
birth of her beautiful baby daughter,
Jayla,on A ug.3,20 0 7,she w as at home
in Gas C ity settling in to the routine
of new born care and introducing Jayla to her
proud older sister,Justyce.
T hen,in one life-changing instant on A ug.8,
just fi ve days after giving birth,the 27-year-old
mother w as throw n into an intense,unexpected
battle for her life that w ould bring her face to
face w ith death and uncertainty over w hether
she w ould live to raise her young children.
A Twist of Fate
T he day started off a bit unusually.Harris brought
Jayla in for a routine checkup.A fter the checkup
revealed Jayla w as jaundiced,the new born w as
admitted to Marion General Hospital’s pediatrics
unit.Harris and her husband,Sean,spent the
night in the hospital to be near their new born.
T hat’s w hen Harris began to fi nd it very diffi cult
to breathe.
T he next morning,the problem persisted,and
Sean insisted that his w ife get her blood pressure checked.Shelley C armichael,L P N ,w ho w as
w orking in pediatrics,checked her blood pressure and found it to be high.B ecause Harris w as
having trouble breathing,C armichael encouraged
6
vim & vigor · sum m er 2 008
her to go to the emergency room immediately for
further evaluation.
T his is w hen things started getting a little
fuzzy for Harris.“I w ent to the E R to be checked,”
she recalls.“My breathing kept getting w orse,
and after D an E dw ards,R .N .,said he w as going
to give me something to help calm me dow n,the
next thing I know I am w aking up at St.V incent’s
in Indianapolis.”
Harris’ mother,C athy L osure,quickly picks
up the story from this point.A s often happens,
family members experience an entirely different
set of traumatic circumstances from patients.
“She w ent into cardiac arrest,had to be fl ow n
by helicopter to St.V incent’s and w e almost lost
her en route,” L osure says.“T hey originally
thought she might have a blood clot in her lung.”
‘ P lease D on ’ t L et M e D ie’
W hile visiting Harris in the E R ,L osure remembered her father’s exp eriences w ith congestive heart failure and noticed her daughter w as
demonstrating some of the same symptoms.
“B ut no one w ould have expected an otherw ise
healthy 27-year-old w ould have heart problems,”
L osure says.
Harris’ blood pressure reached 24 5/175.
“W e knew something w as very seriously w rong
then,” L osure recalls.“D r.T imothy D rinkard,
Thanks to quick action
by MGH staff, Jessica
Harris is alive today
to be a mother of
two girls, including
newborn Jayla.
vim & vigor · sum m er 20 0 8
7
Harris wants to educate other mothers
about p erip artum cardiomyop athy
and encourage them to not ignore any
symp toms they might ex p erience.
Dan Edwards, R.N., and Cathy Boggs, a certified
respiratory therapist, made the decision to intubate her, and I believe that is what ultimately
saved my daughter’s life.”
Before Harris fell asleep from medication
prior to leaving MGH by helicopter, she voiced
one heart-wrenching request to her mother.
“I told her, please don’t let me die. I have babies,”
Harris recalls. “I put a lot of burden on her, but
I couldn’t imagine what my life would have been
without my mother, and I didn’t want my kids
to have to face that.”
One word describes what her mother felt:
helpless. “I just dropped to my knees over and
over and prayed,” Losure says.
The Quick, Lifesaving Action
Losure’s one consolation was the quick actions of
the ER and respiratory staff. “I was so impressed
with their professionalism, they went way above
my expectations,” she recalls. “T hey all worked
so hard to save her— it was almost like it was their
child they were trying to save.
“I am a firm believer God places people in our
paths during our lifetime,” she adds. “I am totally
convinced he placed our granddaughter in MGH
so our daughter could be near staff who were
knowledgeable and who could save her life.”
T hroughout the ordeal, Nanci Rosinski, MGH
pastoral counselor, remained with almost 40 family and church members who had gathered in the
ER to offer comfort and support. “She did a wonderful job of making us all feel at home,” Losure
recalls. “W e could all feel her genuine concern.”
Harris’ mother, father and husband traveled
to St. V incent’s by car. “It took me 17 minutes
W e W ant to H ear F r om Y ou
go
8
v im & v igor
Has your life been changed by the care you or a loved one
received at MGH? Share your story with us! Call 765-662-4014
or e-mail [email protected].
· sum m er 2 0 0 8
by helicopter, and I think it took my dad only
20 minutes by car,” Harris says with a broad grin.
During the five days that Harris was at St.
V incent’s with her family at her bedside, MGH
pediatric staff members were gently and carefully
caring for young Jayla. “It was really tough for
my husband,” Harris says. “He was torn which
way to go and where to stay. I think the decision
was made easier for him when the pediatric staff
assured us they would take good care of Jayla.”
The S tar tling D iagnosis
Harris was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare disorder in which a weakened heart often is discovered within the final
month of pregnancy or within five months after
delivery. Cardiomyopathy occurs when there
is damage to the heart. A s a result, the heart
muscle becomes weak and cannot pump blood
efficiently. Decreased heart function affects the
lungs, liver and other body systems.
P eripartum cardiomyopathy is a complication in one out of every 1,30 0 to 4,0 0 0 deliveries
in the U .S. It may occur in childbearing women
of any age, but it is most common after age 30 .
Symptoms may include shortness of breath,
fatigue, swelling of the ankles, increased nighttime urination and feelings of a heart racing or
skipping beats. W omen who develop peripartum
cardiomyopathy are at high risk of developing
the same problem with future pregnancies.
“My cardiologist has already told me I can’t
have more children, but that’s fine, I have my
two babies now,” Harris says.
“T he really strange thing about all of this is I
felt throughout my whole pregnancy that something bad was going to happen during labor,” she
recalls. “A fter I had Jayla, I felt relieved because
nothing bad happened, and I felt I had made it.”
The Takeaw ay s
Harris wants to educate other mothers about
peripartum cardiomyopathy and encourage
them to not ignore any symptoms they might
experience. “Don’t put it off and wait,” she says.
“I thought I was being a hypochondriac, but in
an instant my life changed.”
P erhaps, Harris’ mother sums up the story
best: “Simply put, everyone came together
and did what needed to be done so a young
mother could live to raise her newborn and
4 -year-old daughter.”