A young woman from North Lincolnshire who was told to “live every day like it’s her last” after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition has found a surgeon to perform crucial surgery on her which could prolong her life for 20 years – but needs to raise £50,000 as soon as possible in order to have the operation.
Megan Hetherington, 27, who lives in the Isle of Axholme, was diagnosed with life-threatening blood-clotting condition, called antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), in late 2020. In the space of just two months, she suffered three strokes and a heart attack.
An ultrasound scan at Scunthorpe General Hospital, carried out after she had the heart attack, showed a huge mass on her heart measuring four by four inches.
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Four weeks later, Megan underwent open heart surgery in Cambridge to remove the growth. Subsequent tests revealed that the mass was in fact a 15-year-old calcified blood clot that had grown over time.
Speaking to Scunthorpe Live back in December, Megan said: “During the operation, doctors saw there was a hole in my heart which would’ve caused the strokes. They noticed the mass was also pressing on my heart valve and that I had a leaking valve, as well as a mass on my pulmonary artery, so they had to get that out as well. It was a four-in-one surgery.”
(Image: Megan Hetherington)
Nine months later, Megan had to have a second round of open heart surgery because a repair to her heart valve had failed. Then, in April last year, she was diagnosed with the very rare condition tricuspid stenosis, which occurs when the tricuspid valve to the heart narrows.
Megan was told by doctors that they would not operate on her valve because of how rare the condition is, and the risk of her dying on the operating table would be “far too high”. She was told to “live every day like it’s her last”.
“It will kill me, it’s just when. There isn’t another case like mine,” Megan said.
“Other valves within the heart can also experience stenosis (narrowing) and if left untreated the average survival rate is less than two years. I’ve been told to enjoy every day like it’s my last by my consultants.”
But earlier this year, Megan was put in touch with a surgeon at Harefield Hospital in London who agreed to perform an operation known as a tricuspid valve replacement, which would replace her narrow tricuspid valve with a cow’s or pig’s valve.
(Image: Megan Hetherington)
However, earlier this week, Megan received the tragic news that she would have to wait between 12 and 18 months to have the operation.
She said: “It came back that the waiting list is too long, there’s a lot of people on his list and it would be between 12 and 18 months. It’s too long and the risk is quite high.”
But if Megan had the operation as a private patient, the cost would be around £50,000 and could be performed as early as this month or next month if she manages to raise the funds. In a matter of just a few days, more than 500 people have donated £6,000 to Megan’s Gofundme fundraiser – meaning £44,000 is still needed to enable Megan to have the crucial operation.
“My mental health has deteriorated. I don’t know how long exactly I have left and I don’t like the not knowing. I have so many questions, and there’s still so much I want to do with my life,” she said.
You can donate to Megan’s fundraiser by clicking here.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
