Help Keep Families Like Nadine’s
Together For Longer This Christmas.
“I can remember when I knew I was going to die, my family knew too…”
Christmas is a time of mixed emotion for Nadine White. On one hand, she cherishes time with family and wants to celebrate how precious life is, while on the other hand, it is a saddening reminder that life didn’t turn out the way she’d hoped.
Nadine’s second child, a beautiful baby girl named Isabella, was just 9 days old when her family were told Nadine wouldn’t survive the night. Nadine had been plagued by a persistent cough throughout her two pregnancies, but was repeatedly told it was ‘just asthma’. Other symptoms, like overwhelming fatigue and fluid retention, were put down to being a normal part of pregnancy. Then, nine days after Isabella was born, Nadine woke up and couldn’t stop coughing. She quickly developed a terrible headache and asked her sister Melissa to take her to hospital so she could be given painkillers suitable for taking while breastfeeding.
They hadn’t even reached the car in the driveway when Nadine passed out. Once at hospital, it was initially thought Nadine was having a panic attack, and wasn’t seen until about six hours later when she collapsed and had to be rushed into resuscitation.
Nadine had arrived at the hospital at 4pm and was diagnosed with peri-partum cardiomyopathy at 1am.
Nadine’s family were told she wouldn’t live through the night.
Nadine is one of around 1500 women who are affected each year by pregnancy induced heart failure or peri-partum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). PPCM is one of the biggest causes of maternal disability and death.
Unfortunately, there is currently no way to detect or treat the disease, by the time it is diagnosed it is often too late. Despite the incredibly high number of cases that result in death, very little research into this horrific disease is being done.
One of Heart Research Australia’s researchers Dr Anthony Ashton is currently leading a project investigating a possible cure for pregnancy-induced heart failure. His research has enabled him to identify a receptor (TP Beta), which triggers the production of proteins in the placenta that cause both pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced heart failure. To read more about his work click here. Anthony’s team are currently working to develop a blood test to detect women who will develop pre-eclampsia or pregnancy-induced heart failure. This early identification would allow for more aggressive monitoring and management of their pregnancies and health in the months prior to and after delivery of their baby. The team are also working to develop a drug that could possibly cure these conditions.
It can be very difficult to secure funding for projects like this due to the highly competitive nature of research grants. It is an unfortunate reality for some scientists that without funding from the community, their research may not be able to continue. While the path to a cure is a long one, Anthony and his team are deeply committed. “Our mission is to give families the ultimate gift – a long, healthy life for mums and their babies – by making a breakthrough in both these horrible diseases,” says Anthony.
Nadine and her family know too well just how horrendous PPCM is. They consider her survival to be a miracle in itself.
It has taken years for Nadine’s health to improve, and even now, 13 years later, Nadine accepts she will never feel normal again. “It’s had an enormous impact on our family. I couldn’t walk to the end of the driveway, couldn’t hold my newborn baby, couldn’t play with our three-year-old daughter Amelia. I couldn’t do anything. I often think my family only got a small percentage of what they should have gotten from me.”
Nadine gets very emotional recalling her experience and the journey that’s unfolded since her diagnosis, and hopes that sharing her experience can help raise awareness of a relatively unknown disease.
“The work Heart Research Australia researchers are doing is so important. I want people to know it happens to healthy young women, and leaves a trail of destruction behind. There will be more women like me affected, and hopefully they will be saved because of the work your team are doing,” says Nadine.
Please help us keep families like Nadine’s together for longer this Christmas by donating today.
A future free from heart disease
Your donation will help fund research that has the incredible potential to save the lives of mums suffering from peri-partum cardiomyopathy and help towards making the medical breakthrough that could spare families here in Australia, and around the world, from the heartbreak of losing a young mum.