Erin’s Recovery: SCAD-postnatal heart attack

May Update: Erin is doing really well, but still gets tired easily and has to take it slow while listening to her body. She continues Cardio Rehab a few times a week for the foreseeable future. Erin, Tyler, and the girls are so grateful for all the support around them while they get back to their normal. Baby Andi is a dream baby and continues to grow! Ava and Alaina are big helpers! In June Erin will see a SCAD specialist which we are all looking forward to. There just isn’t a lot of information out there about SCAD, but to have someone so close to home (Rochester) be an expert in the field is such a blessing!

We’re grateful for your continued thoughts and prayers! They have been heard and felt all around!

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Erin is HOME!! We can’t thank you enough for all of the prayers and generosity! The prayers are working wonders and the funds will be so helpful to them as they navigate the next few months of progress and transition while starting Cardio Rehab (with a newborn at home).

Erin’s most recent update she posted (3/2):

Thank You all SO very much for all of your prayers, thoughts, and support!

I was discharged today and am finally back Home! I know I have a long road to recovery (my Mom is up here helping right now so still getting great support) but it definitely feels good to be back snuggling Andi and under the same roof as my Girls and Ty ♥️

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I’ve had people ask about food/meals so here is the link a neighbor/friend so graciously set up for Erin and Tyler:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/16nr25

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Update 2/28: Wow, wow, wow! We are blown away from the prayers and support. We appreciate all the prayers this last week and everyone who has jumped in, in SO many ways! What a blessing to Erin, Tyler and the girls. Erin’s numbers continue to trend in the right direction. She’s got a long road of recovery and needs to take it very slow, but she may be moving down a floor and looking at coming home “in a couple of days”. From there she’ll start cardio rehab and follow up appointments while learning her new normal. Everything points to a full recovery!

Baby Andi is doing amazing and truly a dream baby! She has an incredibly content demeanor. She’s been able to visit Erin every day since Friday for a few hours and getting lots of extra snuggles at home. Ava and Alaina are doing fantastic. They have loved visiting their Mom and can’t wait for her to be home!

We’ll continue to keep everyone up to date. Thank you again with all our hearts! ❤️

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Hello- I’m Kelly (Erin’s sister) and I am posting this after the many requests from family and friends on how we can best help them through this challenging time. We all know how caring and generous Erin is so we just want to take a little off her and Tyler’s plate so they can focus on getting Erin healthy again. As of today (2/27) Erin is still in the ICU being closely monitored.

Thankfully they have wonderful insurance, but we know there will be unexpected/extra costs that come into play during the healing process and the coming months. We are hoping they can use the funds to hire an extra set of hands for running the girls to/from activities or at night, the general postpartum period “extras” that will be difficult with a newborn, and help around the house such as cleaning and laundry to take the stress off. Erin has a long road ahead of her and we don’t want her stressing the little things through her recovery.

The Nawrocki and Spartz families greatly appreciate everyone’s words of encouragement, prayers, and generosity through this all! Erin is surrounded by so many amazing people! ❤️

Erin’s story is below:

“I never thought at 34 years old, I would be writing this post or saying I survived a heart attack. I’m writing this to update Family and Friends and to also encourage all of you to listen to your bodies and don’t ever hesitate to go to the ER.

We had been 6 days post discharge of being home as a new Family of 5, snuggling Andi (she is seriously the best baby) after an uneventful delivery and going home in 26 hrs. What started as a beautiful morning this past Wednesday (all the girls were home due to a snow day), quickly turned south at 8:30am when I began having a terrible headache, followed by strong chest pain, carpel tunnel feeling in my elbow, and eventually pressure in my jaw. Not wanting to over react or be a bother, I tried what I could before the pain was too much. We loaded everyone up and Ty dropped me off at the ER entrance (thanking God he was home that day to help). I’m grateful for quick and swift action of the nurses and doctors at Ridges ER. Before long I was wheeled back to the Cath lab and quickly transferred by ambulance, with ECMO on standby, to the U of M Cardiac ICU where they treated me with meds which is the standard of care for this type of heart attack (SCAD-spontaneous coronary artery dissection) and hoping to avoid any surgical interventions. I’m still in the Cardiac ICU and they continue to monitor me closely. I’m hoping to get transferred soon to post op floor and am counting down the hours/days until I get to be back home snuggling my girls.

SCAD is not your typical heart attack with plaque blockage. It’s a tear or tears in the main artery walls causing build up of blood which then causes a heart attack. Being very rare, it accounts for 1-4% of all heart attacks and mainly in healthy females including postnatal patients. They don’t know a lot about SCAD, but have learned a lot more in the past few years.

We are extremely thankful to our family and friends who all jumped in/are jumping in to help in all ways with the girls, with the house, food, all the support, and prayers. It takes a village and we’re so grateful for ours! ❤️

We’ll try to keep everyone posted as we know more and appreciate your prayers.”