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Ila May Fisher
A Young Woman Benefits from Heart Devices
By Abby Sinnott
No one would ever believe that just a year ago, Ila May Fisher, a vibrant 26-year-old experienced heart and multiple organ failure. At the age of 18, Fisher was first diagnosed with a serious heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. This occurs when heart muscle tissue is stretched and enlarged, making it difficult for the heart to function and often leads to congestive heart failure.
In serious cases like Fisher's, a heart transplant is the only treatment. However, waiting lists for donor organs can be long and Fisher didn't have the luxury of time. In September 2004, at her home in Humboldt County, Calif., she suffered from congestive heart failure, as well as kidney and lung failure. Fisher was unable to breathe, get out of bed or hold down any food and medicine.
"My mother and her friend wanted to drive me to San Francisco for treatment, but I knew I wasn't going to make it," says Fisher. "I thought I was going to die." Fisher was airlifted from Humboldt County to UCSF Medical Center, where she was put on an intraortic balloon pump, a temporary device for critically ill people that increases blood flow to the heart muscle and decreases the heart's workload.
After two days, her doctors recommended a life-saving surgery of a paracorporeal ventricular assist devices (PVAD) -- a mechanical device that assists the heart's pumping function. PVADs are either used as a bridge-to-transplant therapy for patients waiting for a heart transplant, or as a permanent therapy for patients who are not eligible for a heart transplant.
Because both sides of Fisher's heart -- the right and left atriums -- were not functioning properly, she had two PVADs implanted to help support her heart, which is called a BiVAD (biventricular assist device).
After undergoing surgery, Fisher spent over seven months recovering in the hospital, six of which were spent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Once she was stabilized, a treadmill was put in her room to help strengthen her heart and cardiovascular system.
"At first, I was taking tiny baby steps," she says. "Then I was able to wear shoes and walk normally and then believe it or not, I started running." One of her nurses was a former Ironman tri-athlete and helped design workouts for her. "People would walk by the ICU and think how strange it was to see a patient running and running on the treadmill," says Fisher.
Since her surgery, Fisher's health has improved by leaps and bounds. She now works out almost every single day, making sure to complete an hour of cardiovascular exercise. "I haven't felt this strong or healthy in eight years," says Fisher.
During her time in the hospital, Fisher developed very close and lasting relationships with her nurses, especially Jonathan Pascual and Christy Feigenbutz, and doctors -- Dr. Preben Brandenhoff, Dr. Donald Hill and Dr. Charles Hoopes -- and considers them part of her family. At first, Fisher recorded every single thing each person did for her in a notebook to remember to thank them. "But it was impossible to keep track," says Fisher, laughing. "Everyone was so good to me and did so much for me. This whole experience taught me about the goodness and generosity of people."
On Valentine's Day, Brandenhoff took Fisher and some of her doctors and nurses to the San Francisco Ballet to see his son perform. And when she was released from the hospital, Hoopes helped Fisher move her belongings from UCSF to her new apartment in San Francisco.
Currently, Fisher hopes to move to Minneapolis, where she will participate in a clinical trial of a promising experimental therapy that helps rebuild heart tissue. If she doesn't get accepted into the study, she'll go on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
"I hope my story gives hope to other people," says Fisher smiling. "Keep faith, don't give up on yourself and really learn to love yourself."
Story written in August 2005.
Abby Sinnott is a freelance writer in San Francisco.
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