THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

Fonda teen receives new heart

By KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
(Email Kara)

FONDA – If you didn’t know anything about her, you’d never know Lauren Devereaux is recovering from a heart transplant, said her mother, Melissa Devereaux.

A senior at Newell-Fonda and parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Lauren was diagnosed with giant cell myocarditis and underwent a heart transplant three weeks ago in Omaha. She returned home April 29.

“[She is] very healthy,” Melissa said. “We’re out walking four or five times a day.”

The Devereauxs’ whirlwind ride began at the end of March when Lauren had flu-like symptoms. She stayed home from school for a couple of days, but when she didn’t improve over a weekend, she went to see her doctor on Monday, Lauren’s mother said. It was determined she most likely had pneumonia and so she was given treatment and sent home.

By the following Tuesday night, Lauren hadn’t improved and her heart was now racing. She went to the emergency room where blood work was done, which led to a CAT scan of her abdomen.

“They found something with the bottom of the heart that they didn’t like, but we still thought it was pneumonia,” Melissa recalled.

The diagnosis
Lauren was then sent to Children’s Hospital in Omaha. She arrived on April 1 and began a series of tests, including a biopsy and catherization of her heart. Twelve days later, on April 13, the doctors determined she had giant cell myocarditis, a rare cardiovascular disease characterized by inflammation of the heart muscle.

According to the Myocarditis Foundation’s Web site, giant cell myocarditis is the most deadly form of myocarditis. Symptoms can range anywhere from fatigue to sudden death. It can only be detected by a heart biopsy, which makes it a difficult disease to diagnose, the site stated. With proper treatment, the rate of death or heart transplantation is less than 50 percent one year after symptoms appear.

Lauren began immunosuppressive medication that day, to see if there would be an improvement, Melissa said. Prior to her diagnosis, the doctors had mentioned the possibility of a heart transplant, though nothing was definite, she added. So the following day, Tuesday, April 14, Lauren’s parents met with the transplant team to get the paperwork started to see if Lauren would qualify for a transplant, should that be necessary down the road.

“We thought we were just getting our ducks in a row, [but] by Tuesday night she qualified to be on the transplant list,” Melissa said. “Wednesday morning they called me and said that they had a heart.”

Melissa was not expecting a heart that soon. Only 12 hours had elapsed from when Lauren was put on the transplant list to when the family found out a heart was available, she said. Somewhere in that time Lauren was moved to the top of the transplant list.

“From what we’ve gathered, her heart was sicker than probably we realized,” Melissa said. “Obviously you don’t move to the top of the list unless you’re in dire need.”

Knowing she had a dire need for a new heart was a scary thought, Lauren said.

“I was very scared because I knew I had to have a major surgery, but if that’s what it took for me to stay alive, then I was willing to do it,” she said.

On April 15, Lauren underwent the transplant. It took an hour for the doctors and staff to prep for the surgery while Lauren was in the operating room, and then approximately another four hours for the actual surgery. She returned home two weeks to the day after the operation.

“I feel like myself again,” Lauren said.

While she feels like herself, she said she also feels the effects of having a surgery. She’s not as strong as she used to be and can’t do as many things. . .yet, she said. The doctors and transplant coordinator expect her to live a full life and go back to doing everything she did before the transplant, including playing sports. She already takes four to five walks a day and next fall Lauren will attend Waldorf College and play on the school’s softball team, her mother said.

For the next three months, it’s critical that Lauren takes precautions against infection. She can’t eat fresh fruits or vegetables and is on a low-sodium and low-fat diet. She also can’t lift more than 10 pounds and must sit in the backseats of cars. While she won’t return to school this year, she will still graduate this spring.
Regular doctor visits in Omaha for biopsies to check for rejection are also part of Lauren’s recovery, Melissa said.

Gift of life
Now that Lauren is on the road to recovery, the family has begun to reflect on the life that was lost so that Lauren could live. It has been a process and will continue to be one, Melissa said. They’ve talked with their parish priest several times, which has helped them deal with everything.

“Someone is grieving just as much as we are rejoicing and we very much have to keep that in perspective,” she said.

All the family knows about the donor is that it had to be somebody similar in size and height of Lauren, Melissa said. She added that they will be able to send the donor’s family information about Lauren, but that it will be up to that family if they meet someday. Regardless, nothing takes place for a year to allow for healing.

“We are very, very grateful to them,” Melissa said. “There’s not enough that we can say about them and for them, and all the prayers that have been directed our way, we are directing just as many as we can toward them and their healing. I don’t know how you tell somebody thank you for that kind of a gift.”

Without their faith, Melissa said the family wouldn’t be where they are today. Faith was present the entire way, including with the doctors at Children’s and at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who knew there was more than science going on, she added.

“There’s definitely a deeper, much closer bond to God than I was and I take that as another gift from all of this,” she said. “Our faith is why we’re here. He was our strength when we needed it.”

On May 3 Bishop R. Walker Nickless celebrated confirmation for Fonda and Varina and made a special visit to see Lauren and give her the anointing of the sick.

“We prayed for a little bit and we talked for a little bit and then he left,” Lauren said, adding that it was a cool experience.

Through it all, it has been the support of God, family and friends that has kept her positive, she said.

“Without God I wouldn’t have made it through because he’s the one I turned to, along with my parents, when I needed someone to talk to or when I just needed someone to be there for me,” Lauren said. “Without him I definitely wouldn’t have made it.”

A freewill donation benefit dinner for Lauren is being held from 5-8:30 p.m., May 9, at the Fonda KC Hall. A 5K run/walk will also be hosted by the Newell-Fonda girls track team beginning at 4 p.m. The auction begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Backyard Grill. Those unable to attend, but wishing to donate should send to First Community Bank, Lauren Devereaux Benefit, 212 N. Main St., Fonda, IA 50540.