Help Tanner Heal: Open Heart Surgery Fund

Friends and Family,

We're reaching out to you with a heavy heart to share some challenging news about Tanner Siegling. As many of you have already heard, he needs to have open heart surgery. He is at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. In short, Tanner has been experiencing a range of symptoms for a while, including night sweats, chills, coughing, muscle aches, headaches, vision loss, fatigue, weight loss, and loss of appetite. Despite undergoing various medical tests like MRI, EKG, CT, and X-ray, no diagnosis was found. After consulting multiple doctors unsuccessfully, Tanner turned to Amanda, who contacted her cousin Aaron and his fiancé Kristen, both Internal Medicine Physicians, for guidance and next steps. Tanner made an appointment to see Kristen. She ordered a blood culture test during Tanner's appointment on February 6th.

Amanda and Tanner had a planned trip to Arizona, and being the golf lovers they are, they were going to attend the Waste Management Tournament on Saturday. They flew to Arizona on Wednesday and when they landed around midnight, Kristen called with horrible news. The blood cultures were positive for bacteria. Kristen advised Amanda to take Tanner to the ER, and with the severity of this news, she advised to get him admitted to the hospital so he could start IV antibiotics. While they were in the ER at Banner University Medical Center, multiple tests were performed. After being admitted, more tests were done. One of the tests is called a TEE, or a Transesophageal Echocardiogram. It's a special type of ultrasound test used to examine the heart. During a TEE, a small ultrasound probe is passed down the throat and into the esophagus. This allows for a very clear and detailed view of the heart structures, including the valves, chambers, and blood flow patterns. The reason the TEE was done was to get a closer and more detailed look at the heart compared to a regular echocardiogram (which he also had). His cardiopulmonary report indicated endocarditis of native bicuspid aortic valve with non-coronary cusp perforation and pseudoaneurysm/fistula of the aorto-mitral valve curtain resulting in severe aortic insufficiency. In simple terms, Tanner has a problem with his heart valve called the bicuspid aortic valve. This valve is not working properly because there's an infection called endocarditis. The infection was caused by bacteria in his blood. This infection has caused a hole in the valve, and there's also a small bulge that's like a bubble near another valve called the aorto-mitral valve. Because of these issues, the blood is leaking backward in the heart, which is called aortic insufficiency (AI), and it's causing severe problems. This is serious and he needs surgery to fix the valve and stop the leakage to keep his heart working properly. At this point, there is no news if the valve can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced.

The weight of this diagnosis is heavy, not just emotionally, but financially as well. Despite having insurance, the cost of the procedure, along with post-surgery expenses, can be overwhelming for anyone, so as his friends, let’s try and help. We want to help and we’re reaching out to you all in the hopes that you can help us raise the funds needed to alleviate the burden of these medical bills. Your generosity, no matter the amount, will make an incredible impact on their journey to recovery. And if you’re unable to contribute financially, please pray for him and his family.