Bri’s Heart Journey

Bri’s Heart Journey Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Bri’s Heart Journey, Medical and health, Tea, SD.

Follow along for Bri’s Heart Journey.
- 11/22/22 First open heart for congenital heart defect
- 9/24/22 2nd open heart surgery
- multiple heart caths/ hospitilizations

I know I’ve asked a lot over the years…but another round of prayers would be greatly appreciated as Bri has just been ta...
09/24/2025

I know I’ve asked a lot over the years…but another round of prayers would be greatly appreciated as Bri has just been taken back for her procedure ♥️

Hi everyone. I’ve had a few people ask about hoodies and T-shirts with the logo! If you would like to purchase, I have...
09/22/2025

Hi everyone. I’ve had a few people ask about hoodies and T-shirts with the logo! If you would like to purchase, I have started a group order!! Thank you everyone ♥️
Here is what they look like, there is a few options! The link is attached as well!

https://www.customink.com/g/hyu0-00cz-zaf8

🫀 1 year ago A year ago I had my 2nd life saving open heart surgery. The surgery went great but after in the ICU was jus...
09/18/2025

🫀 1 year ago
A year ago I had my 2nd life saving open heart surgery. The surgery went great but after in the ICU was just the beginning of so many complications. Afib starting it, then hemorrhaging once they pulled my femoral line. 2 days later I stood up to walk and my chest tube fell out in the hall way, 3 hrs later it happened again. 2 of my 4 chest tubes pulled out of my chest, then my lung filling up with fluid. A week after being home my incision ruptured- staying open for 6 month, then closing and reopening at 7 mo post op. Countless visits to the wound clinic for 7 months straight 1-2x a week, then getting an infection. Being pulled from cardiac rehab about 10 times. My heart couldn’t handle the exercise and I was never able to go back, it honestly still can’t handle much of any physical activity. The infections around my heart coming back and having to increase my steroids AFTER surgery, and start a new very strong medication called rilonocept- my shot I give myself every week. Then going back into heart failure- congestive/ diastolic heart failure. Having every symptom return, the extreme swelling, shortness of breath, cough, lightheaded, chest pain, etc. Multiple hospitalizations for critical lab levels and a “fatal” heart arrhythmia called torsades. In reference to all of this, I was supposed to be off of 95% of my meds by 3 months post op, I am on more now than ever. I take 3 diuretics every single day, and 4 if it’s getting really bad. I am at the doctor at least once a week for everything going on, I need to go so often because everything is out of whack. I’m getting labs drawn anywhere from 1-4x a week. I try very hard to do physical activity but I either send myself into the scary arrhythmia or my heart is going atleast 180bpm just trying to play some basketball, or walk my dog around the block. This recovery and year has been very hard. I haven’t felt good in such a long time. I go to the doctors for answers and no one knows. The part of my heart they were concerned wasn’t pumping good, is pumping good. There is some reduced function on the right side and the pressure is high in one of my arteries. But nobody seems to know why, or what to do besides start me on a different heart failure medication. I am hoping someone will have an answer or things magically start feeling really good and I can come off some of these meds and try to live a “normal” 23 yo life. I go in next week for a procedure for my heart to have a devide implanted.

09/18/2025

Is anyone on flecainide? Theres been a few times I have gone into an arrythmia that can be fatal called torsades, if I’m not in torsades I’ve been in trigeminy or bigeminy. If im in sinus rhythm I am having palpitations constantly, worse when I do any activity. Im having a procedure for my heart next week to get a device implanted. Wondering if anyone else is on this med for rhythm issues, and how you feel? Metoprolol tanks my bp, and I can’t be on amiodorone for an extended period of time because I’m so young.

09/07/2025

🫀 update-
My neck is finally looking better! After an antibiotic, 2 allergy meds and 2 topical steroids. I meet with electrophysiology on Sept. 15, then the heart failure team on Sept. 19. Both in Sioux Falls.
After/ during my first open heart surgery the way I was positioned for so long ended up causing 2 fractures in my back, in L4 and L5. I was in a back brace and did PT for a long time for it. I was doing much better and not much back pain. Friday afternoon I went to sit down and got the worst pain I’ve ever had in my back. I was hoping after taking meds, using heat etc it would go away. Saturday morning I had my mom bring me in to acute care because it was so bad, x-rays confirmed my back is still broken at the lower level, and the L4 is sliding over L5. So I’m in a back brace, and going to get fitted tomorrow for a different one, I’m on meds. We are going to try PT if my heart allows, the other options are surgery which is the permanent fix and injections to help with pain. I will not do surgery, and I can’t have the injections or steroids because of my heart.😵‍💫 so this is the fun activity for my weekend.

♥️♥️
08/26/2025

♥️♥️

This weekend has been rough. My neck looks terrible. Yesterday we had to call the St. Mary’s cath lab (Mayo hospital) my...
08/25/2025

This weekend has been rough. My neck looks terrible. Yesterday we had to call the St. Mary’s cath lab (Mayo hospital) my throat was swelling and it was getting harder to swallow, and affecting my voice some. Mayo had told me to go to the er, especially with the path the catheter took. I took extra Benadryl asap, and it helped with some of the swelling. Today the marks are going around my neck. I’ve messaged my Mayo team and my local doctor. Praying I can get in right away tomorrow.
They told me a 1/1000 chance of a complication happening. That’s a 99% chance of it for me of course

08/21/2025

Got home from Mayo Clinic 1 hour ago, just to have to turn around and get back to Avera asap. Mayo Clinic wanted me to come back in but I was 45 mins from home. My site in my neck is infected, it’s red, hot pretty swollen and hard. I had to get a shot to get an antibiotic into me asap, and starting meds 4 pills a day for 10 days. They said they really don’t want to have to put me in the hospital for IV therapy, so starting meds while at the clinic.

Anyone have a heart cath and deal with whatever this is. My right side of neck is pretty swollen, and obviously it hurts...
08/21/2025

Anyone have a heart cath and deal with whatever this is. My right side of neck is pretty swollen, and obviously it hurts, it’s sooo red all the way from my neck down my chest. I’m waiting to hear back from a few of the doctors that did this yesterday.
This has never happened with any of my wrist heart caths.

Update 🫀 The pressures from the cath looked good, and my heart is pumping like it should, like a normal 23 yo. The resid...
08/20/2025

Update 🫀
The pressures from the cath looked good, and my heart is pumping like it should, like a normal 23 yo. The residual pericardium is not causing this issue either. We just have to figure out why I’m retaining so much fluid, the cough and why my heart has been beating like a freak. I will know more tomorrow. My cardiologist said we will figure this out why this stuff is going on, they said we still have a lot to figure out

Update from meeting with my doctor at Mayo Clinic today🫀 We went over everything and all that’s been going on, with like...
08/19/2025

Update from meeting with my doctor at Mayo Clinic today🫀

We went over everything and all that’s been going on, with like the fluid, cough, chest pain, rhythm issues. They are thinking it is diastolic heart failure, he said it would be really rare for someone my age to have it. But all the signs are pointing to it. The treatment is the diuretics im on currently. The heart cath tomorrow will really be the key to figuring out what’s going on. The echo, labs, EKG all looked ok. The ekg/ echo findings are comsisent with cardiac surgery/ chd. If it’s not the heart failure they are thinking it’s my lungs. But Dr bird has already talked to Dr. Miranda (Dr doing heart cath). He said I will need to be on the arcalyst for a year then we can see about weaning it. He wanted to try to go lower now but since I’m on the prednisone still he doesn’t want to like risk it coming back. I can start tapering the colchicine in like 2 weeks. It sounds like the test tomorrow will be in the afternoon. We really have to make sure I do not go into an abnormal arrhythmia.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-bris-2nd-open-heart-surgery/cl/s?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_US&attribution_id=sl%3A9eb794c7-1f0e-488b-9236-388724f8420f&ts=1755645288

08/18/2025

We have made it to Mayo Clinic safely.
We are currently at the hospital for the first day of testing. ♥️🫀🙏🏼 getting ready for a long week.
Send prayers.

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Tea, SD
57064

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https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/27JX3BLEFMWY2?ref_=wl_share

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