JANET Thompson’s life was flipped upside down in March 2020 after a troubling medical diagnosis.

The 61-year-old of Brainerd, St Mary, noticed swellings around her ankles and began feeling pain in her legs. After multiple trips and tests at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), she was told that her heart had been collecting fluids.

This prevented her from breathing properly, a problem she had been overlooking since 2019. After further tests she was diagnosed with global distension of the heart and pulmonary hypertension. She was immediately placed on medication but by February 2021 she was given three months to do a surgery before the condition becomes irreversible.

When the doctor gave the prognosis, Thompson could not help but think about how life had been unfair and ‘cut-throat’.

“Since the diagnosis it is very hard for me; I am unable to do simple housework. I got weaker and have no strength at all. It was late 2019 that I found out that when I walk around I have shortness of breath, and then around March 2020 I started to get pain in the legs and around my ankle. One day I woke up with my legs swollen and went to the doctor where he gave me a series of tests to do which involved thyroid tests, abdominal tests, hearts tests, blood tests and ultrasounds,” Thompson told the Jamaica Observer.

“Everything came back fine except the heart test, where they found I had some fluid developed around my heart. Subsequently they allowed me to do additional heart tests to confirm.”

On February 10, 2021 Thompson was told that she had less than three months to do a $1-million (approximately US$6,750) surgery to replace her faulty valves – the membranous structures in the heart. Further, there is an additional US$4,600 for her heart kit and valves.

“My family is really trying their best but financially, the cost to correct this situation is beyond our reach. Some extended family members have promised some funds and unfortunately, have not been able to provide it as yet,” she said.

Dr Roger Irvine, a cardiothoracic surgeon who specialises in cardiac valve replacement and repair, is one of the doctors involved in Thompson’s case. He told the Sunday Observer that Thompson could become inoperable if the surgery isn’t done soon.

“One can never put a definite number on all the days but with every passing day and week, you actually get the worsening of the heart failure symptom and the worsening of the pulmonary hypertension. There will come a point when that becomes irreversible and it doesn’t matter if we operate on her. She might not be able to survive the surgery,” he said.

“She has a number of heart valves that are damaged and we think that she most likely has had a rheumatic heart disease in the past, which has damaged the valves. When those valves don’t work they put a lot of strain on the actual heart and, by extension, strain on the lungs – resulting in the high pressure in the lungs.”

Thompson’s daughter said it’s a draining experience watching the only parent she has ever known go through this. She told the Sunday Observer that the family has been struggling to accumulate the necessary funds.

“We as a family have been trying to assist with the cost of her surgery and associated materials. The public hospital where she is to do her surgery charges $1 million for the surgery. We have agreed to try to gather the funds necessary however, the impact of the [coronavirus] pandemic has left so many persons, including me, without a stable job. Other family members are also having difficulties getting paid on time and in full each month,” the 29-year-old said.

“We do not have that money up front. Her only sibling who works in Jamaica is not being paid in a timely manner or even in full since COVID hit, so he is unable to provide much help. She has a brother overseas who is trying to help us and asking for help but it takes time as everyone is affected by the pandemic.”

She has pleaded with Jamaicans to help her mother overcome the financial pothole on her road to recovery and good health.

“Please help us to reach our goal to save my mother’s life. She is a wonderful single mother who would like nothing more than to hold a grandchild in her arms. She is an excellent baker and she draws during her spare time. She has always tried to work for what she wants, however, life throws hardball[s] at people when we least expect it. We are asking for your help to help her be functional again.”

She added: “I only knew one parent growing up, and she tried her best to educate and provide for me. I’m trying to do my best to take care of her and sometimes it seems like obstacles keep coming as I find solutions. I appreciate family who took over when I did not have any funds to keep paying for the tests they kept sending her to do, while I kept refilling prescriptions and trying to keep her on a healthy diet and so on.”

She said the last couple years have been challenging, after her mother lost her job in 2016.

“In recent years, however, she has encountered a few financial and health challenges. The very year I graduated from university was the same year she lost her job working with a private security company, after working with them for more than 20 years. My mom has not had a job since 2016, and she has no recommendation letter from the company she was working with.

“I had actually moved out and was trying to manage two households. There wasn’t a lot of funds saved up previously. When COVID hit, I lost my job and had to move back in with her. Whatever I had was used to manage her medical expenses as best as possible,” she continued.

Anyone wishing to help can make a donation at: www.gofundme.com/f/help-janet-fix-her-heart?utm_source=whatsapp-visit&utm_medium=chat&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet