Heather Wydock Hospital Expenses
Donation protected
Thank you to Andy for writing up the following summary:
As some of you may know, Heather scheduled treatment at an urgent care facility on Saturday, August 15th after about three days of severe headache and some vomiting. Due to high blood pressure and her symptoms, the urgent care staff suggested she go to an ER.
Not long after, Heather was admitted to Emory University Hospital in Midtown, Atlanta. Initial blood work came back normal, but a CAT scan revealed a large blood clot in her brain that begins at the top of her head and stretches toward the edges of her ears.
Treatment for blood clots like this are rather standard: begin with heparin, an anticoagulant engineered to stop the blood clot from growing, and then, once reaching a therapeutic range, begin a blood thinner designed to help the body naturally break down the blood clot - in this case, Coumadin (aka warfarin). The heparin takes a few days to do its job, which is partially why Heather needed to stay in the hospital for so long.
However, Heather continued to experience severe headaches, which concerned the neurologist who was also curious about the size of the clot relative to Heather's age - it’s abnormally big, even for all the potential causes that may have contributed to the blood clot. The neurologist took some additional tests to rule out the unique effects for the clot, such as autoimmune disease or genetic blood clotting disease. These tests take up to a week to produce results, so we won’t know for sure for a while.
On Monday, August 17th, Heather was informed that she was moving to the ICU for observation and would have an MRI in order to form a clearer picture of what was going on. The MRI revealed nothing worrisome to the doctors: they can see the clot and then some, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else to cause concern. Heather will begin a contemporary, less-antique blood thinner Tuesday night, August 18th, called apixaban and is slated to move back to the regular hospital floor Wednesday for normal observation and care. While there is no certainty when Heather will be discharged, hopes are that she will go home Thursday.
This has been a very trying time for Heather: aside from the understandable physical and emotional tolls her symptoms charge, nobody has been allowed inside the hospital to see her due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and FaceTime can only do so much; meanwhile, Heather has had to work through several panic attacks atop generalized anxiety disorder.
This GoFundMe page is being set up to support Heather and her boyfriend, Andy, in coping with medical expenses, time out of work, and post-discharge care during this difficult time. If you are unable to donate, please reach out to Heather via text, Facebook message, or email: she loves inspirational and positive messages (and jokes) from her friends and family. Thank you in advance for any support you can offer!
As some of you may know, Heather scheduled treatment at an urgent care facility on Saturday, August 15th after about three days of severe headache and some vomiting. Due to high blood pressure and her symptoms, the urgent care staff suggested she go to an ER.
Not long after, Heather was admitted to Emory University Hospital in Midtown, Atlanta. Initial blood work came back normal, but a CAT scan revealed a large blood clot in her brain that begins at the top of her head and stretches toward the edges of her ears.
Treatment for blood clots like this are rather standard: begin with heparin, an anticoagulant engineered to stop the blood clot from growing, and then, once reaching a therapeutic range, begin a blood thinner designed to help the body naturally break down the blood clot - in this case, Coumadin (aka warfarin). The heparin takes a few days to do its job, which is partially why Heather needed to stay in the hospital for so long.
However, Heather continued to experience severe headaches, which concerned the neurologist who was also curious about the size of the clot relative to Heather's age - it’s abnormally big, even for all the potential causes that may have contributed to the blood clot. The neurologist took some additional tests to rule out the unique effects for the clot, such as autoimmune disease or genetic blood clotting disease. These tests take up to a week to produce results, so we won’t know for sure for a while.
On Monday, August 17th, Heather was informed that she was moving to the ICU for observation and would have an MRI in order to form a clearer picture of what was going on. The MRI revealed nothing worrisome to the doctors: they can see the clot and then some, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else to cause concern. Heather will begin a contemporary, less-antique blood thinner Tuesday night, August 18th, called apixaban and is slated to move back to the regular hospital floor Wednesday for normal observation and care. While there is no certainty when Heather will be discharged, hopes are that she will go home Thursday.
This has been a very trying time for Heather: aside from the understandable physical and emotional tolls her symptoms charge, nobody has been allowed inside the hospital to see her due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and FaceTime can only do so much; meanwhile, Heather has had to work through several panic attacks atop generalized anxiety disorder.
This GoFundMe page is being set up to support Heather and her boyfriend, Andy, in coping with medical expenses, time out of work, and post-discharge care during this difficult time. If you are unable to donate, please reach out to Heather via text, Facebook message, or email: she loves inspirational and positive messages (and jokes) from her friends and family. Thank you in advance for any support you can offer!
Organizer and beneficiary
Barbara Ziobro
Organizer
Jenkinstown, NY
Heather Wydock
Beneficiary