Bicuspid Aortic Foundation "Stories of Hope Jodee Richesin"

Like many young women her age, at 30 Jodee Richesin had some very special goals. In early 2004, if you had spoken with her about her desires for the future, she would have shared her most treasured dreams with you: having a baby with her new husband, Josh, and building a new home for their family.

But if you had continued talking with Jodee, she would have told you that she often wondered if those dreams would ever come true. She would have told you that she was short of breath, that pain in her chest had sent her to the emergency room more than once, and that she lived in fear she could die at any moment. And she would have told you the reason why. Jodee had something very serious in her chest: a failing bicuspid aortic valve and an ascending aortic aneurysm.

Above all else, Jodee wanted to live for her three children and her husband. But even in facing the possibility of losing her life, she never gave up on her dreams. She not only wanted to be well again, she wanted to one day hold her new baby in her arms.

For about a year, Jodee had been in and out of the hospital. Looking back, she describes it as one of the worst years of her life. Going to the emergency room with chest pain, fearing as she lay in a hospital bed that her aorta might tear and end her life, Jodee had good reason to question her future. She also questioned herself, because she was told repeatedly that the chest pain she felt was not related to her aortic aneurysm. Jodee was told her pain was due to anxiety. She was told she had a panic disorder.

Searching for answers, Jodee learned that chest pain may come from the aorta (symptomatic aorta) and that treatment with blood pressure medication is important. No longer doubting her own instincts that the pain in her chest was "real", Jodee pursued the best possible solution for her condition.

Jodee knew she needed surgery. She also knew that replacing her bicuspid aortic valve with a mechanical valve would result in a need to take blood thinners. But Jodee learned that there was an alternative. If her bicuspid aortic valve could not be repaired, it could be replaced with a biological valve and a blood thinner would not be needed. Like many with bicuspid aortic disease, Jodee's heart itself was healthy, and once the aortic aneurysm that presented the greatest immediate threat to her life was removed, there was a good possibility that she could successfully carry a child. Learning all this, Jodee dared to hope that her dreams for herself and her family might come true after all.

Clinging to those dreams, she traveled to California for surgery. In early May 2004 Jodee underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Her bicuspid aortic valve was replaced with a bovine pericardial valve, and a Dacron graft took the place of her diseased ascending aorta. The aneurysm that threatened her life was gone!

As she recovered, Jodee and Josh continued with their plans for the future. They would build a new home, and they would once again raise the question of having a child. After consulting with all of her doctors and gaining their support, they were delighted to find by late summer that Jodee was pregnant. As they looked forward to their child's birth, their new home was also being built.

When Jodee and Josh learned that they were expecting a daughter, they named her Gracee. But the doctors had been frank about the risks of pregnancy due to Jodee's kidneys. Jodee has a condition called IgA nephritis. During her pregnancy, this developed into nephritic syndrome, with declining kidney function and the spilling of large amounts of protein into her urine. Jodee's kidneys were also breaking up her red blood cells, making her extremely anemic, and 7 months into her pregnancy she needed a blood transfusion. She also had an ongoing kidney infection requiring antibiotics. If complete kidney failure should occur, it would mean dialysis.

Through out it all, Jodee and Gracee were carefully monitored. Due to the issues with Jodee's kidneys, the doctors prepared Gracee for an early delivery by giving Jodee steroids to develop Gracee's lungs. Gracee could safely be born as early as March 1st, but if she arrived that early she would need to spend three to five weeks in neo-natal ICU.

On March 19, 2005, Jodee and Josh moved their family into their new home. Three weeks later, on April 7th Gracee was born. Less than 12 months following Jodee's aortic surgery, she and Josh held their beloved daughter in their arms.

Jodee is very aware that her dreams were things that many might take for granted. Today, she finds herself living those dreams: watching her baby grow, hearing the sound of her children's laughter, attending her sons' soccer and baseball games, and sharing each day with Josh, whom she calls her rock.