Douglas Hedglin

DJ’s Heart JourneyAfter a serious viral infection as a teen, DJ was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and over the years, his condition slowly deteriorated. At the beginning of December 2023, what we thought was just a minor setback in DJ’s health turned out to be much more than expected. DJ to was admitted into UPMC Hamot on Saturday, December 2nd for what we thought was just fluid buildup. They started administering IV diuretics with the plan to treat him for a few days and reevaluate. Things did not go as well as we hoped and they decided to do a Right and Left Heart Cath to see how his heart was functioning. While the left side was clear, the right side gave indications that the heart muscles were not functioning well. It was decided between the Cardiologist at Hamot and his Advanced Heart Failure Specialist at UPMC Presbyterian that on Friday, December 8th, 2023, he would be transported by ambulance to Pittsburgh for an Evaluation and Workup to determine if he would be a candidate for Heart Transplant.DJ has been through this evaluation before, so we pretty much knew what to expect as far as the tests would go. The first few tests went well and we expected that he would complete a few more tests and they would adjust his medications, evaluate his case and that we would get to come home. When they repeated a Right Heart Cath, the results were not good. There was no improvement and the results were worse than the one they performed at Hamot. On Wednesday, December 13th, 2023, the Heart Transplant Team came to his room to let him know that it would be in his best interest to remain in the hospital and that they were working on listing him for transplant. They also made it clear that because his heart function was so low, that they scheduled him for surgery to implant an Impella to allow the heart to rest and recover by temporarily assisting the pumping function of the heart to efficiently deliver blood and oxygen to the entire body. On Thursday, December 14th, 2023, he was taken into surgery to implant the Impella pump, a Heart Catheter so that they could constantly test the pressures of his heart as well as an Arterial Line that allows his blood pressure to be easily checked at all times. After the procedure, he was moved to the CICU. On Friday, December 15th, 2023 his Advanced Heart Failure Specialist hand delivered the letter stating that he had officially been listed for Heart Transplant as a Status 2, and would remain in the CICU until he could receive the gift of a new heart. Unfortunately, his heart was still declining even with the support of the Impella Pump. The doctors had been adjusting medications and doing their best to keep everything moving in the right direction. On December 20th, 2023, we had some serious conversations on the possibility of needing more therapeutic support. The doctors and nurses monitored him closely throughout the night. Things were barely maintaining and the advanced heart failure team held a shock call to make a decision on next steps. It was decided that the next best course of action would be to start him on ECMO. With the addition of this therapeutic measure, they moved DJ up to a Status 1 on the transplant list. After spending Christmas in the CTICU, on December 30th, 2023, we got the call at 4:07 pm for an offer of a donor heart. The medical team worked through the night to retrieve the donor heart, do a physical inspection, and prepare for transplant. On December 31st, 2023 at 5:58 am, they wheeled him back to the operating room to prepare for heart transplant surgery. After 11 hours, they moved him back into the CTICU for recovery. The surgery went well, and they were able to remove the ECMO lines, the Impella, and his ICD in addition to performing the transplant. Unfortunately, DJ’s kidney’s have suffered through this surgery and into recovery. The medical team is working to reduce the amount of fluid volume that has accumulated in his body, but there is still a ways to go for recovery. Your continued support and prayers are appreciated as he continues to heal. Family and friends of Douglas Hedglin are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation. Douglas has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button. For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399. Thank you for your support!