Thank you for visiting ‘Lauren’s Heart Team’ Page! Lauren will be undergoing extensive Open Heart Surgery on September 5th, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio at the renowned Cleveland Clinic. The next few months will be tough for her and her family of 6. Many people have reached out and asked to be updated on her upcoming surgery OR how they may be able to help along the way, we’re so grateful for you! We (her family) plan to use this page to post updates to help keep friends, family and loved ones updated on her surgery, progress & recovery. Thank you for being here & part of Lauren’s Heart Team! HOW CAN YOU HELP: Below you will find a Calendar full of several ways to help such as transportation needs to/from the kids school, dinner sign ups, pre-make lunches for the little kids, house cleaning, groceries etc. Various gift cards have been placed on the ‘wishlist’ on the side as well that would be helpful for the family. We have also made an Amazon Wish List of items that will be essential but also helpful for her recovery. Even some things to just make her feel good while she heals! The link is below. The biggest way you help is by prayer! Please continue to pray for Lauren, the surgeons, doctors, staff and team working on her for wisdom & guidance. Also, for a speedy and unremarkable recovery with no complications. HER SURGERY: Lauren will be heading to Cleveland, Ohio on September 2nd, full Open Heart Surgery scheduled for September 5th, with a potential discharge date of September 12th (tentative). The recovery will be rigorous and approximately 12 weeks. She will not be able to lift more than a gallon of milk, will have an incision from neck to navel. She will be unable to drive for 8-12 weeks. TRANSPORTATION: Bryce, Lauren’s amazing husband will be driving Lauren to Cleveland, Ohio for her admission to the hospital. Bryce will be staying at a nearby hotel for the approx. 10 days she will be there. The cost of traveling to and from Cleveland along with the hotel stays are not covered by Insurance. Lauren’s parent’s will also be traveling to Cleveland to help support not only Lauren but Bryce through this time. HER STORY: Lauren’s heart battle has been ongoing since she was 8 years old. She was diagnosed early on with MVP (mitral valve prolapse) & then later progressed to an arrhythmia at age 14. The monitoring, medication management and health effects have been ongoing since then. Our parents battled, prayed and believed continually for the Lord’s wisdom, guidance and intervention throughout the years. Unfortunately, today’s story is a testament to the importance of remaining your own healthcare advocate & trusting in the Lord, because if it wasn’t for that we can’t be certain we would be here today! Lauren’s Doctors continually acknowledged her conditions yet dismissed many of her symptoms or the severity strictly due to her ‘young age’. Her body should be resilient, strong and healthy, so she was often ignored when she knew something was wrong inside. She went on to move through life, become a mother of 4 beautiful babies and try to just live with the uncomfortableness she’d feel in her chest. In 2018, Lauren went in for a routine EKG, it was at THIS MOMENT that Lauren’s life changed forever! During this test, the screen on the EKG lit up like a Christmas Tree! Her heart was showing severe NSVT (non sustained ventricular tachycardia) a.ka the sudden death arrhythmia. This quickly grabbed the attention of her Heart Doctors who were in utter shock. She then underwent several months of wearing an internal heart monitor where she would press a button every time she felt these extra beats. The results illustrated that on almost 2 occasions, Lauren only 3 beats away from cardiac arrest! It was theorized that Lauren’s deadly beats were originating from her Mitral Valve. A condition so rare that they’ve only been seen in less than 1% of all heart patients. Thankfully, in 2019 her doctors agreed that Lauren needed a life saving defibrillator placed in her body to protect her from these extra deadly beats. Lauren spent a week in the hospital having the defibrillator inserted into her body. The procedure was grueling, painful and left us all amazed at her resilience and ability to remain positive through it all. As a family, the security that device brought was indescribable, those beats were no longer deadly and it would save her life. However, the strength of Lauren's heart, her health and physical stamina continued to decline for the next 5 years. Her cardiologist continued to monitor her Mitral Valve and struggled to find a way to fix the issue given the complexity and uniqueness of her case. However, in spring of 2024 the Lord opened the door for a new fresh set of eyes! During her annual EKG/Stress Test a new cardiologist was present to observe. This Dr watched as her heart was performing erratically all over the screen and was intrigued, amazed and intent on diving deeper into what could be done for her. Lauren sat there in tears as this incredibly attentive and kind doctor spoke to her with dignity and validation; intent on advocating for answers! Over the next several weeks the MCW/Froedtert Cardio team decided action needed to be taken! She was referred to the complex care team at Cleveland Medical (Cleveland, Ohio) where they are equipped with the high end technology and resources ideal for her case. In May of 2024 Lauren traveled to Ohio for rigorous testing that lasted over 3 days. Shortly after her last test, it was immediately identified that Lauren was in severe heart failure & her Mitral Valve needed immediate repair/replacement. They proceeded to discuss potential resolution for not only her Mitral Valve but the NSVT arrhythmias as well. There is now a plan in place to attempt to resolve both conditions. We’re prayerfully optimistic that this innovative solution will resolve all of her heart conditions and the uniqueness of her case will not impede the surgery. We know many of you have been invested in her journey for many years & some of you are new to her story and what she's been through. In both cases, we’re hopeful this shines light on the Miracles God is capable of and how important patient advocacy is. Thanks for listening, for being here, for your continued support, prayers and help through this journey. (Written by: Nicole Fazio Denk, Lauren’s sister)