Heart device gives woman more time with her grandchildren

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Jody Gibbs says she probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for MercyOne Iowa Heart Center Des Moines and her left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “All of the MercyOne and Iowa Heart Center doctors are awesome and really mean a lot to me. I probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”

Jody was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 and again in 2010. Chemo treatments caused complications to her heart’s ejection fraction - amount of blood her heart was able to pump out. A normal ejection fraction is 55 or greater. Jody’s was 17.

In 2020 it started to worsen. She started experiencing significant shortness of breath doing everyday activities.

“Vacuuming and making my bed became very hard to do,” she said. “I would have to sit down and rest. It was getting worse and worse each day.”

In March of 2021, she gained 40 pounds due to fluid buildup. Jody went to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and stayed for two weeks while specialists removed the fluid from her body and around her heart. Her heart was failing. Originally, cardiologists recommended a heart transplant as the best option, but during testing, a small spot of cancerous cells showed up. This made her ineligible for the transplant list.

The advanced heart failure specialists at MercyOne Iowa Heart Center Des Moines started to discuss a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with Jody. LVAD is a battery-operated, mechanical pump that circulates blood throughout the body when the heart is too weak to adequately pump blood on its own.

On August 17, 2021, MercyOne Iowa Heart Center cardiothoracic surgeons implanted the LVAD device.

“I felt really good after having it placed,” Jody said. “Every day I got better and better, I could breathe much easier and walk and do simple house chores.”

Now she’s living her best life, doing her favorite hobbies – bowling, signing, gardening, riding her bike and most importantly spending precious time with her grandchildren.

“I want to be able to do everything with them as long as I can,” she said. “I am so thankful and grateful this LVAD is allowing me to do that.”