Jeri Palmer’s journey to healing her heart was anything but simple, but it was filled with extraordinary care, determination and expertise from Northside Hospital Heart Institute. Living with multiple chronic conditions, the Ball Ground resident faced daunting obstacles, yet Jeri’s story is one of hope, resilience and a life-changing cardiac procedure that gave her a new beginning. Below are her own words.
Looking back on this journey, I never imagined that the road to healing my heart would be so complex, yet also filled with compassion, dedication, and care, especially from Dr. Fredy El Sakr and his remarkable team.
I'm not exactly sure how my journey down the cardiac road began. You see, I'm a very complex case with multiple health issues: epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), lupus and two blood disorders. I was eventually diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation by Dr. Santhi Adigopula after being referred to her by my neurologist. In hindsight, I believe that referral came because of the overwhelming fatigue I was experiencing. I couldn't even shower without needing to lie down and rest afterward.
The diagnosis came on gradually over a couple of years and progressed into severe regurgitation after only being moderate. That was when I was referred to Dr. El Sakr.
The initial plans were to do more invasive procedures, but because I also have heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, which is another way of saying a life-threatening allergic reaction to Heparin, which is a blood thinner used in most surgeries, any other heart procedure could not be done. This limited Dr. El Sakr and his team to what he could do for me and limited the success rate of the surgery. Therefore, the only procedure he could do was to go in through my groin, place a MitraClip into my valve and try to get it to work. Several obstacles could stand in the way of this being successful, and he was very concerned about it. I'll never forget the sound of the seriousness in his voice, the evening before the procedure. He called me to explain everything and what he was up against. I appreciated that he took the time to do that and showed how much he truly cared and the thought he was putting into his performance. I did not doubt that it was a severe and unlikely procedure, but I also did not doubt that he and his team would do everything they could to make it work.
Of course, I was very nervous and prayed a lot that morning before the procedure. My sister and my mother accompanied me that day. All the staff were super friendly and supportive before and after the procedure.
I'll never forget waking up hearing my mother and sister tell me that the procedure worked! It was exhilarating! Dr. El Sakr was extremely humble and kind, but he and his team performed an absolute miracle and my mother kept hugging him and calling him her Hero. We were joking with him about how he got the "short stick" on this surgery, but he did it well anyway. We know that the Lord was with all of us that day, and we will never forget the gift that was given.
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Almost immediately after the procedure, I began to feel like a new person. I had more energy than I knew what to do with. About one week after the procedure, I was walking in the park with my mother, and by the time I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. El Sakr, I was up to three miles a day.
Cardiac Rehabilitation at Northside Hospital Cherokee was beneficial because they had different equipment to work my body. I was considered a fall risk due to my epilepsy, but I was still able to use various machines. All of the staff were very friendly, encouraging and personable. I liked meeting with the nutritionist and learning about the American Heart Association recipes. A lot of helpful information came out of rehab.
Since then, my family has gone through the unthinkable. We lost our mother, Judy McPherson, in a car accident on the day of my July 30 follow-up appointment, so I lost my exercise partner, and my life drastically changed. Even as we are adjusting to losing her, I continue to work out on the elliptical machine and attend water aerobics three days a week. Right now, I am dealing with some fatigue, but we are trying to determine if it is a Lupus flare or the heart. I just had another echocardiogram and Dr. El Sakr's office immediately connected with me. I could not be more grateful for them, Northside Hospital Heart Institute and Cardiac Rehab. They were important pieces of my recovery.
Learn more about Northside Hospital Heart Institute.
*The health story shared here is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Patients should consult with their own physician before making medical decisions.
