A patient who was given just a 2% chance of survival has praised Watford General Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) team for saving her life after a major heart attack caused a hole in her heart.
Karen Faith, 74 and from Northwood, was in remission from cancer and otherwise fit and healthy when she suddenly became unwell at home. What was initially thought to be an infection proved far more serious, as it emerged Karen has a blocked artery that had caused a major heart attack and a hole in the wall of her heart.
Karen suffered a tear in an artery and multiple organ failure. Doctors told her family that she had around a 2% chance of survival and that a proposed procedure to repair the hole in her heart had only a slim chance of success.
Operating immediately was very risky because the damaged tissue in Karen’s heart was too soft and fragile, or 'mushy', to hold the stitches or patch needed to close the hole. But, waiting too long also risked the prospect of Karen's heart failing.
That's when the ICU team stepped in to stabilise Karen and get her fit enough to receive vital heart surgery. They managed a heart pump, dialysis and other organ support, getting her strong enough to undergo specialist heart surgery at Hammersmith Hospital.
The team supported Karen’s failing heart with an intra-aortic balloon pump, which helped maintain her critically low blood pressure for two weeks. They also provided dialysis after her kidneys failed and managed complications affecting her liver and lungs.
Over those two weeks, the ICU team stabilised and strengthened Karen until she was ready for surgery. They also supported her emotionally, reassuring her when she felt frightened or frustrated and even saving her favourite strawberry yoghurts for her.
Karen said: “The nurses and doctors gave me the will to live. I’m here now because of that team. They couldn’t have done more. They saved my life.”
The team also supported Karen’s family, helping to make an otherwise horrific experience bearable. Her husband, Mark Faith, said: “The experience was made bearable by the positivity, professionalism and sheer humanity that we experienced in ICU. There is no doubt about it, Watford ICU saved Karen’s life.”
Despite such a slim chance of survival, Karen was transferred successfully to Hammersmith Hospital, where the operation to repair her heart was a success. She is now back home with her family and making the most of life.
Karen recently returned to Watford General Hospital to visit the ICU team, including ICU Senior Sister Merlyn Chander, who played a key role in her care.
And while the team have made a life-long impression on Karen, she has also left a mark on the ICU team too, with Merlyn saying: “We do not often care for patients as unwell as Karen who had a complex heart condition and on a heart pump for a long time. Seeing her walk through the doors of the ICU and looking so much better. And what more could a nurse want? It makes our jobs so fulfilling.”