What Happend?

Our mother, Laurie Nelson, had a sudden cardiac failure on the morning of Sunday, September 21st. She collapsed at a church building in Ogden, Utah. She very quickly received excellent CPR from a doctor, a nurse, and an EMT who were at the church. She was transported to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden where she received an emergency pacemaker and was stabilized. There they did an exploratory procedure and found that this was not a heart attack and that she did not have any blockage in the blood vessels around her heart. She also did not have a stroke. 

 In order to perform some more complex tests, Mom was then transferred by helicopter down to Intermountain Health Center in Murray, Utah where they have the best heart clinic in Utah and one of the best in the country. In Murray, a specialist was able to diagnose Mom with a rare condition known as arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. This condition causes fat to build up between certain cells in the heart. This can degrade the electrical signals between different parts of the heart, so that instead of each part contracting at the right time the heart can become uncoordinated. This means that blood is not pumped through the body as the heart muscles spasm rather than work together. This is what happened to Mom. The good news is that this condition is treatable with medication and a pacemaker. Mom should be able to make a full recovery, but she has a long road to get there.

This blog is intended to provide updates and information for those interested in following Laurie's recovery. So many people have prayed, fasted, and supported our family over the past few days, and will continue to pray, fast, and support us moving forward. We can never thank you enough for the love you have shown our mother and us.