Healing From a Broken Heart

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Healing From a Broken Heart

Episode 6

Meet our guest, Heidi House

Heidi House is an 8th grade English teacher. She and her husband, Brodie, live in Mattoon, Illinois and have been married for 8 years. Rueger, her adorable 3-year old son is her miracle and the light of her life. Heidi shares her devastating story that ultimately left her with a broken heart both physically and emotionally. Tune in to hear their story and how Heidi has risen beyond their devastation to not only save herself, but other mothers as well.  

Introduction

To honor Heart Disease month, I sat down with my dear friend, Heidi House for an interview. We met during the worst moments of her life. Our connection was immediate but sadly over something we would prefer not to have in common.  

She speaks openly and candidly about an experience that should have been full of joy, but rather left her physically and emotionally with a broken heart. You will hear her devastating story unfold as she describes their infertility journey, her need for a stat cesarean section after a full cardiac arrest while in labor followed by the unexpected, sudden loss of their beautiful daughter, Emery. You will not believe what Heidi and her husband Brodie have been through. But, mostly, you will be amazed by the awe inspiring bravery and resiliency of Heidi and how she has risen up beyond their devastation to not only save herself, but other mothers as well.    

Joy to the Depths of Despair

After their struggles with infertility, Heidi and Brodie were elated when they found out that she was finally pregnant… and with twins! Heidi’s pregnancy was fairly uncomplicated until she started to notice some swelling and edema. The edema progressively became worse and she was eventually diagnosed with preeclampsia.

The decision was made to start induction of labor due to her worsening preeclampsia at 32 5/7 weeks. It was during her induction that she started to feel worse and like she could not breathe. Hours into her induction, she had a full cardiac arrest, was intubated and taken back for an emergent cesarean section. Shocked and scared, Brodie sat in the waiting room without updates for an hour not knowing if his wife or children were alive.

Emery Claire House

Their daughter, Emery Claire was born first followed by Rueger. They were taken to the NICU stable on CPAP and Heidi went to the ICU. At that time, they were unsure why Heidi had a full cardiac arrest except that her lungs were full of fluid.

Later that morning as Heidi remained intubated and in the ICU, Brodie was called to urgently come to Emery’s bedside due to sudden decline in her condition. Despite all resuscitative efforts, Emery passed away. Heidi never saw her own daughter alive. Never held her. Never kissed her sweet head.

Brodie and Heidi’s sister had to explain to Heidi that Emery was gone. Being sedated and still very unstable, Heidi felt like she was floating above her own body. She could not wrap her groggy head around what was happening.

Heidi and Brodie ensured that all of their family members were able to hold Emery.

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Two days later, Heidi’s lungs started to refill with fluid and she went into full cardiac arrest and her heart stopped for 2 minutes. Her family had her transferred to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis in case she needed the LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) for heart failure.

It was at Barnes Jewish Hospital where she was diagnosed with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, or pregnancy-induced heart failure. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy weakens the heart muscle and can be caused by several different factors, but for Heidi, it was from her preeclampsia. Heidi’s ejection fraction was only 5%, whereas it is typically 53-73% in healthy adults over the age of 20.

There are some patients with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy that fully recover, with others, their heart remains enlarged and they need to be placed on the the LVAD. In other women, they ultimately need a heart transplant to survive, and sadly, many women do not survive. It happens to women of all ages and in every race.

Heidi’s recovery and the reunion with Rueger

With Heidi’s angel watching over her, Heidi survived and was eventually discharged and able to be with Rueger. After one year, her heart has fully recovered and her ejection fraction is up to 63%. She feels that it was Rueger who ultimately healed her. Once they were rejoined, she did kangaroo care with Rueger and loved on him as much as her weakened condition would allow her to.

Still, she struggled emotionally with her unexpected loss, wondering where Emery’s bedside was in the NICU, was she near Rueger, and was bogged down with extreme fear for Rueger’s life.

Rueger did well in the NICU overall. He had a PDA that did not close, but despite the Neonatologist’s recommendation to intervene surgically, she admittedly, could not accept it at that time. After 5 weeks, Heidi and Brodie were finally able to bring Rueger home on October 1, 2017. Rueger followed up with Cardiology, and ultimately did require surgical intervention for his PDA which was incredibly difficult on Heidi and Brodie to just step back into a hospital.

The hardship has also been incredibly difficult on Brodie. To see your wife cardiac arrest right in front of you and receive CPR would have been haunting enough, but, he also stood there feeling helpless as they relentlessly tried to save Emery’s life as well.

Closing

The depths of despair that the House family has been through is immeasureable. They have endured so much loss and devastation in such a short amount of time. Yet she understands the value in telling her story. That, although difficult to relive, it will not only help women, but save their lives. Tune in next week for the second half of our conversation. You will be amazed to hear about Heidi’s work as the Illinois Representative for “Save the Mommies.” Heidi has educated herself and has chosen to use this platform to speak at conferences and to bring awareness amidst all of her grief. Thank you, Heidi, again for your bravery and willingness to help others. 

To learn more about Save the Mommies or to get in touch with Heidi House, email: brodieheidihouse@yahoo.com

Remember, once empowered with knowledge, you have the ability to change the course.