Stephanie Lountzis was working out at her native fitness center in early February when her proper leg turned numb and started to vary colour.
The match and healthy 28-year-old anesthetic nurse, who goes to the fitness center 5 days per week, had by no means skilled something prefer it.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Stephanie retains her household up to date whereas in hospital.
For extra Well being & Wellbeing associated information and movies try Health & Wellbeing >>
Her leg “felt prefer it was being crushed” and had “the worst pins and needles”.
She additionally started to expertise double imaginative and prescient.
“I used to be like, ‘What the hell’s occurring?'” Lountzis, from Melbournetells 7Life.
“The ache simply obtained progressively worse, and, being a nurse, I knew it wasn’t simply an damage.”
Lountzis’ buddy took her to Emergency the place the triage nurse eliminated her shoe and sock.
“She discovered my foot was ice chilly,” Lountzis explains.
“It was as pale as a ghost and had no sensation, and she or he suspected immediately it was a blood clot.”
Due to her comparatively younger age, medical workers “dismissed” the concept, as a substitute probing prospects equivalent to sciatica – ache which radiates down one or each legs from the decrease again.
However Lountzis knew her situation was far worse.
“The ache was simply insufferable – I felt possessed,” she says.
“I felt like I had no management of my physique.”
Prognosis
A CT scan confirmed Lountzis had not one however a number of blood clots – three within the femoral artery in her proper leg and one in her left leg.
A cluster of clots was additionally present in her kidneys.
Blood stream to her proper leg was utterly lower off and she or he required emergency surgical procedure – to avoid wasting not solely her leg however her life.
“I had no time to assume or be concerned or scared. It was simply go go go,” she says.
The five-hour surgical procedure was profitable however for the subsequent 24 hours, Lountzis “had no feeling” in her legs.
Surgeons needed to go away two incisions open to assist with the blood stream.
She additionally needed to endure a second surgical procedure to take away the blood clots in her left leg.
“I can not even clarify how exhausting it’s to simply consistently be taken all over the place within the hospital for all completely different scans and every little thing,” she says.
The trigger
Following the surgical procedure on her left leg, she had CT scans, an MRI and an echocardiogram to determine the reason for the clots.
“They discovered a mass in my left atrium of my coronary heart – they could not affirm whether or not it was a blood clot or whether or not it was in truth a mass,” she says.
“The truth that we found that was life-saving.”
The subsequent day, Lountzis needed to endure one other, extra invasive process – a trans-oesophageal echocardiogramthrough which a probe is shipped down the throat to facilitate a coronary heart ultrasound.
There, medical doctors situated a 3cm benign tumor known as a cardiac myxoma – a non-cancerous progress within the coronary heart.
“I might have had that for years and years and never identified,” Lountzis says.
“Sadly, it did kick off these clots, whereas some individuals simply dwell with it for his or her entire lives with out even realizing.”
Lountzis then needed to endure open coronary heart surgical procedure to take away the guts tumor.
“The one factor I do bear in mind is the surgeon telling me pre-op that this is likely one of the solely cardiac surgical procedures the place you go in and are available out utterly cured,” she says.
“That is one factor that caught with me and was actually reassuring.”
The subsequent day, whereas recovering in intensive care, Lountzis suffered inner bleeding from her spleen.
“I used to be in ICU for 5 days post-op, after which two days within the cardiac ward after which discharged the week after surgical procedure,” she says.
Restoration
Following her ordeal, Lountzis should now keep at dwelling to recuperate for 12 full weeks.
However the impartial and energetic younger girl is discovering the pressured relaxation difficult.
“I bear in mind on the day I used to be discharged, I stated to the surgeon, ‘So what can I do at dwelling?” she recollects.
She was informed she wanted to relaxation and have “everybody do every little thing” for her.
“Being the impartial person who I’m … that was very tough,” she says.
Her husband, Vinny, 32, who works from dwelling, hasn’t left his spouse’s facet, and helps her the place he can.
“He is been unimaginable, he is been very supportive, very sturdy,” she says.
“I do not know what sort of stress I’ve put him via, however I’ve undoubtedly totally aged him and my mum 20 years.
“He is been my rock via all of it and he does every little thing for me.”
Lountzis is now out of labor till she will be able to totally recuperate, prompting pals and colleagues to arrange a GoFundMe to assist.
Chest pains
With 9 weeks of restoration to go, Lountzis was just lately pressured to move again to Emergency – after creating chest pains.
She was identified with pericarditis, an irritation of the guts lining which could be widespread after cardiac surgical procedure.
Whereas there, medical doctors additionally discovered she had a lung an infection.
“That was undoubtedly a little bit scary second, the place I assumed I used to be form of within the clear and doing very well,” she says.
Her restoration is an extended and overwhelming course of however she’s remaining constructive.
“I am nonetheless alive, which is a bonus,” she says.
“It might have been rather a lot worse.
“So I nonetheless really feel like I’ve come out of this entire factor fairly fortunate.”
For extra participating well being and wellbeing content material, go to 7Life on Facebook.
