LVAD Surgery & Recovery for Randy Pulliam

Randy was diagnosed with heart failure back in 2017 and spent a brief stay in Northeast GA Hospital in Gainesville, GA. The end of January 2024, he started having trouble breathing, leading to anxiety attacks and sleep deprivation. Soon after he began to experience fluid retention (swelling) on his extremities and kidney issues. His doctor in Gainesville said his medication was no longer managing his now late stage heart failure and needed medical intervention to live. While in Gainesville, a device called an Impella was implanted into his chest to provide assistance with blood flow and controlling his symptoms until a more permanent solution could be arranged. He was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN on February 14th. He is undergoing open heart surgery to implant an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) on his heart.

htttps://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ventricular-assist-device/about/pac-20384529

Why I'm fundraising:

Successful LVAD implantation will drastically improve Randy's quality of life and prolong his life expectancy. We are so thankful he qualifies for this procedure. However, the surgery is complicated, and the recovery period is long. He is scheduled for surgery Thursday, February 29th. He will spend 3-7 days in Critical Care ICU rehab/recovery then 2-3 weeks in cardiac unit before he is released to begin healing and rehab. This requires a 3-month stay in Nashville, TN so he can be near his surgeons/nurses/rehab team while he recovers and attends appointments.

The impact of your support:

This is going to be a huge financial burden for us. The most immediate expenses are three months of housing accommodations near Vanderbilt University Medical Center during Randy's rehab period, which will include follow-up appointments, LVAD monitoring, and physical therapy. On top of lodging expenses, we will also have food and gas expenses.

Once he is able to move back to Toccoa, the medical bills will start rolling in. As you can imagine, this is type of life-saving surgery is incredibly expensive. Not only will he have bills associated with surgery and hospital stay, he will also have the recurring expenses of maintaining his LVAD, including wound care items, bandages, cleaning supplies, and adaptive clothing to accommodate the LVAD tubes and batteries.

We are all incredibly grateful for any assistance you feel moved to provide to help them alleviate one of the biggest stressors associated with a life-altering medical diagnosis and treatment plan. We want to be able to focus primarily on Randy's healing.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!