From the heart - Christopher Larsen
Donation protected
Chris, age 30, got sick the end of August with what he and his wife Kira, thought was the flu. This sickness continued, and although his wife pleaded with him to go to the emergency room, Chris refused, thinking it would go away after a couple more days. Kira came to my house (her mother) to pick up soup to try to tempt his appetite, since he hadn’t been able to keep anything down for several days.
When she got back to their apartment, she found Chris unconscious on the floor. Paramedics were called and he was transported to the regional hospital where tests were begun. They found that he had a systemic staph infection that had damaged his heart, and attached to two of his heart valves, destroying them and sending clots to his brain. His diagnosis was endocarditis, but the clots had caused what they figured was 15 strokes. He was blind, had limited function in one side, and great dark spots on his brain which were the dead tissue from the strokes.
He was life flighted to U of U hospital and several teams started working on him to try to get rid of the infection and decide what to do about the rest of the damage. It was decided to open his chest and remove and replace the damaged valves and rebuild his heart. He survived the surgery and was placed on medicine to stop the clots from forming and traveling to his brain, and more medicine, administered directly into his heart, to try to get rid of the staph infection. He was in the hospital for six and a half weeks, after which he was transferred to a nursing facility. He had regained his eyesight, his motor function, and was able to have conversations again, although he still had some memory and cognitive problems. Since the doctors hadn’t anticipated that he would get most of the deficits back, he was considered a miracle man.
Chris never regained his usual energy and then on January 9, he was rushed to the same regional hospital with excruciating chest pains. He was once more life flighted to U of U hospital where teams started to work on him, again. They found that the replacement valves had again been destroyed and his aortic root was damaged and there was a clot in his LAD(a major coronary artery), the aortic mitral curtain was destroyed, the structural damage to his heart was extensive included 2 holes in the walls, there was liquid behind his lungs, and his heart couldn’t maintain a normal rhythm. This time it was a strep infection that had caused the heart deterioration, and heart attack. They decided to try a complicated and rare surgery to replace the aortic root, the aortic and mitral valves, bypass the LAD and reconstruct the damaged areas of the heart.
The surgeons advised that there was a need to wait at least 3 days before attempting to preform any surgery so soon after a heart attack, unfortunately, the section of his heart that controls the conductivity and responsible for keeping your heart in a normal rhythm began to deteriorate rapidly. Chris was rushed to the operating room to begin the long process of reconstructing his heart. The surgeons advise this was a “Hail Mary” procedure as it was so soon after the heart attack but waiting any longer would make him ineligible if his rhythms got any worse. Chris’s organs started shutting down early in the procedure but the surgeons wanted to ensure the repairs were in place if he were to make a recovery. His surgery lasted a little over 11 hours but the teams were unable to bring the other organs back. He was wheeled down to the ICU for his family to say goodbye before passing away quietly with his family around him.
His widow, my daughter (26 years old), has his funeral and burial to pay for which costs more than 10,000.00. His ambulance fees and Life Flight are not covered by their insurance and the cost of those will be in excess of 46,000.00, and hospital other expenses not covered by insurance so far is 6,500.00.
Chris was loved for his kindness, his ability to find worth in those he met, and his love of a good prank. He was a hard worker and could be depended upon in any job that he held and by friends and family in times of need.
He had a passion for working on dirt bikes, motorcycles and fast cars. Chris always enjoyed the outdoors and you could always find him on a bike, a snow board or a hiking trail. Whether it was up in the mountains or on the sand dunes, Chris could always appreciate the beauty of the outdoors and the spirit of a new adventure.
CHris and Kira celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary between the two hospital stays, just starting out in life. Kira is still trying to get her education but put it off to help make a living for them. She wants to be a nurse practitioner. This kind of debt will cripple any education plans she has for years to come, and that is beyond the emotional trauma. Our gratitude goes out to anyone who can help with donations. Thank you!
When she got back to their apartment, she found Chris unconscious on the floor. Paramedics were called and he was transported to the regional hospital where tests were begun. They found that he had a systemic staph infection that had damaged his heart, and attached to two of his heart valves, destroying them and sending clots to his brain. His diagnosis was endocarditis, but the clots had caused what they figured was 15 strokes. He was blind, had limited function in one side, and great dark spots on his brain which were the dead tissue from the strokes.
He was life flighted to U of U hospital and several teams started working on him to try to get rid of the infection and decide what to do about the rest of the damage. It was decided to open his chest and remove and replace the damaged valves and rebuild his heart. He survived the surgery and was placed on medicine to stop the clots from forming and traveling to his brain, and more medicine, administered directly into his heart, to try to get rid of the staph infection. He was in the hospital for six and a half weeks, after which he was transferred to a nursing facility. He had regained his eyesight, his motor function, and was able to have conversations again, although he still had some memory and cognitive problems. Since the doctors hadn’t anticipated that he would get most of the deficits back, he was considered a miracle man.
Chris never regained his usual energy and then on January 9, he was rushed to the same regional hospital with excruciating chest pains. He was once more life flighted to U of U hospital where teams started to work on him, again. They found that the replacement valves had again been destroyed and his aortic root was damaged and there was a clot in his LAD(a major coronary artery), the aortic mitral curtain was destroyed, the structural damage to his heart was extensive included 2 holes in the walls, there was liquid behind his lungs, and his heart couldn’t maintain a normal rhythm. This time it was a strep infection that had caused the heart deterioration, and heart attack. They decided to try a complicated and rare surgery to replace the aortic root, the aortic and mitral valves, bypass the LAD and reconstruct the damaged areas of the heart.
The surgeons advised that there was a need to wait at least 3 days before attempting to preform any surgery so soon after a heart attack, unfortunately, the section of his heart that controls the conductivity and responsible for keeping your heart in a normal rhythm began to deteriorate rapidly. Chris was rushed to the operating room to begin the long process of reconstructing his heart. The surgeons advise this was a “Hail Mary” procedure as it was so soon after the heart attack but waiting any longer would make him ineligible if his rhythms got any worse. Chris’s organs started shutting down early in the procedure but the surgeons wanted to ensure the repairs were in place if he were to make a recovery. His surgery lasted a little over 11 hours but the teams were unable to bring the other organs back. He was wheeled down to the ICU for his family to say goodbye before passing away quietly with his family around him.
His widow, my daughter (26 years old), has his funeral and burial to pay for which costs more than 10,000.00. His ambulance fees and Life Flight are not covered by their insurance and the cost of those will be in excess of 46,000.00, and hospital other expenses not covered by insurance so far is 6,500.00.
Chris was loved for his kindness, his ability to find worth in those he met, and his love of a good prank. He was a hard worker and could be depended upon in any job that he held and by friends and family in times of need.
He had a passion for working on dirt bikes, motorcycles and fast cars. Chris always enjoyed the outdoors and you could always find him on a bike, a snow board or a hiking trail. Whether it was up in the mountains or on the sand dunes, Chris could always appreciate the beauty of the outdoors and the spirit of a new adventure.
CHris and Kira celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary between the two hospital stays, just starting out in life. Kira is still trying to get her education but put it off to help make a living for them. She wants to be a nurse practitioner. This kind of debt will cripple any education plans she has for years to come, and that is beyond the emotional trauma. Our gratitude goes out to anyone who can help with donations. Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Cindy Bingham
Organizer
Logan, UT
Kira Larsen
Beneficiary