Tiela kock Campaign
My name is Tiela Kock. I am 39 years old and currently recovering from open heart surgery.
My journey started in 2020 when we where blessed with an unexpected 3rd pregnancy. About a month after my C section I started showing signs of Pulmonary Embolism (blood clots in the lungs). My baby daughter was 2 months old when I was diagnosed with Acute heart failure, Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) and Regurgutation in 2 valves (leakage of valves) due to the Pulmonary Embolism.
We could not afford a medical aid and due to a lack of funds and public services, my condition worsened to the point where my Mitral heart valve was completely deterarated, my heart almost doubled in size and was beating 144 beats per minute and my Liver was starting to enlarge.
I had to resign due to my medical condition and losing my income , having 3 children to support along with medical bills. My husband was and still is under extreme pressure.
In addition to everything we had to relocate to a different province. By the Grace of God the public service placed me on a waiting list for valve replacement. My condition escalated to Congestive heart failure where I could no longer preform day to day tasks. For the last 2 years it's been back and forth to the hospital every other month. Approximately 400km both ways.
At last my surgery was scheduled for end Nov 2023. They assured us the surgery is low risk. 4 hour surgery with 4 to 5 days in ICU and a week stay in a normal ward. They gave us the option of a mecanical or biological valve. The mecanical will last for 30+ years but I will need to take blood thinners for the rest of my life. Where the biological valve will only last up to 5 years and the surgery would have to be repeated.
So we chose the mechanical valve not only for financial reasons but because of the impact on our children as well.
However due to complications. My surgery lasted almost 11 hours. Under anesthesia I got Acute organ failure (due to my organs not being used the normal amount of blood flow) and Arrhythmias (irregular/abnormal heart rhythm). Which let to a temprorary pacemaker. A week after my heart surgery they replaced the temporary pacemaker with a permanent one. My ICU stay was extended to 10 days and a week in the normal ward.
My journey to recovery is far from over as I now have kidney damage and memory and concentration problems due to complications from the anesthesia.
Because of blood thinners my pain medication options are limited and the services can't provide all the medication I need. I still have to go for weekly INR bloodtest until the correct dosage for my medicine can be determined, as it is a struggle to keep my levels stable.
The financial burden of my illness and treatments ways heavy on our family as it is not determined how long it will take to resolve the additional complications. Therefore I am humbly pleading for any assistance you can offer during these challenging times.
Thank you for considering my request, your support and your kidness.