Doug Fenske's HCM Fund

In the middle of January, the whole family contracted COVID-19; when that passed, Doug was still experiencing shortness of breath and chest pressure in February. We then went straight to urgent care, where they did an EKG and told us the results were abnormal, and they wanted us to go directly to the ER. After three days in the hospital and many tests, we discovered he has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). This condition is where the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it hard for the heart to pump blood. Once we received this news, he was put on beta-blockers and given restrictions that he will need to have for the rest of his life, and we were also advised to see an HCM specialist. When we went to the specialist she increased his beta-blockers and told us that he would need to get an MRI to see how much scarring was on his heart. There was also a chance that this condition could be genetic, so he was tested for the gene as well. It turns out he does have the gene and Bradley, Doug’s 12 year old son, was also tested. Once our 2 year old son is old enough he will need to be tested along with the new addition coming later this summer. The results came back from the MRI and there was a good amount of scarring on the heart which put him as a high risk patient, and he could go into cardiac arrest. Because of the scarring the doctor thought it would be best for him to get an ICD implant, which is just another name for a defibrillator.

On June 21st he will be undergoing that surgery and will be out on recovery and out of work for 6 weeks. As mentioned before there will be a new addition coming later this summer. After Doug’s recovery time, to the day, will be my c-section surgery. Unless she decides to come earlier, which puts Doug out of work for longer. These next few months are going to be difficult to get by and we are asking for a little help from our friends and family. We have 2 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat and the cost of living and now the cost of the surgery and doctor bills to worry about. We were not expecting all of this at one time and it really has taken a toll on all of us financially and emotionally. There is no option for Doug to not have this surgery, without it he could go into cardiac arrest suddenly and not make it through. We are doing all we can to not let this impact our children or let them see all the hardship that is going on at the moment. We want them to be happy as any parent would want for their children. Please again we ask for any help anyone can give, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate all of our friends and family and wouldn’t be able to get through this without that support.