Cassie continued to remain stable throughout the night and was brought into the OR early this morning to reduce her dependence on ECMO. Cassie officially moved off VA ECMO (which supports the heart and the lungs) to VV ECMO (which will only be supporting her lungs as they continue to reduce the fluid built up inside of them). She has now also been reduced to the lowest setting in the VV ECMO and it is supporting her lungs. This is significant progress in her recovery and it will be a critical 24 hours for her as her new heart will now be working independently. The ICU team’s goal for the day is for her to remain stable and monitor her heart closely.

Happy Easter Sunday! Today is one day of many to appreciate sacrifice and believe that God’s message will become known with patience and perseverance. Thank you to Pastor Dan Metzger for the lovely message this morning at St. Mark’s Methodist Church and for the outpouring support and prayers we continue to receive for Cassie.

Cassie had another stable and productive evening. She was able to adequately offload fluid (with kidney assist) and maintain progress towards recovery. She continues to rely on ECMO support to offload stress on her new heart and recovering lungs, with the goal to decrease support while maintaining proper blood flow into all extremities. Support will be weaned slowly as they continue to struggle to maintain proper blood flow into her left leg without assistance.

All neurologic tests continue to be positive, and the team is having to increase pain management as she is starting to become more aware of her surroundings.

The care team goals are to string together a multitude of stable days to allow her body adequate recovery. We will continue to update regularly as she crosses milestones under the assumption that this process is lengthy.

Cassie continued to be stable for another night. She remains on the ECMO machine to support both her heart and lungs after the transplant. This morning at 8:30 AM she re-entered the OR to review the healing progress on her left leg that suffered compartment syndrome. The vascular doctors were pleased with the amount of reactive muscle that remained in her leg. The doctors are still worried about loss of function to specific areas in the lower leg (anterior compartment muscles and the medial head of gastrocnemius). They believe she has a high likelihood to develop drop foot with some plantar flexion weakness. Doctors remain unable to make a determination if she will avoid amputation but if the healing continues she could maintain her left leg with the use of orthotic assistance. Today’s goal of the ICU team is to maintain her stability and continue to give her body time to heal after the invasive surgeries she has undertaken.

The family greatly appreciates all those that attended the prayer vigil to support Cassie, her family, her medical staff, and the donors family. It was truly amazing to see the community that has come together to support Cassie through her healing journey.

Hello everyone,

We wanted to share an update on our beloved Cassie as she continues her fight at the Ohio State University – Ross Heart Hospital ICU. As many of you know, this journey began unexpectedly one week ago today.

On Friday, April 11th, Cassie underwent scheduled elective open-heart surgery to repair a bicuspid aortic valve. During the procedure, she experienced a tragic and sudden complete heart failure. Despite efforts including a triple bypass surgery, her heart muscle was sadly deemed non-viable, and she was placed on ECMO (a form of life support) to sustain her.

By April 13th, Cassie was placed on the heart transplant list and fast-tracked due to the urgency of her condition. We experienced the emotional rollercoaster of this process when an initial donor match on April 14th unfortunately couldn’t proceed due to donor complications. Hope was renewed on April 15th when another match was found, deemed viable, and approved by Cassie’s surgeon that evening. The new heart arrived late that night, and the transplant surgery began.

In the early hours of April 16th (around 1:43 AM), we received the wonderful news that the transplant surgery was successful. Later that day, Cassie showed encouraging signs, remaining stable and even opening her eyes for the first time since the initial surgery, with her new heart functioning at 100%. However, this journey continues to have its challenges. That evening (around 9:45 PM), Cassie experienced a cardiac arrest lasting approximately four minutes. She was stabilized and placed back on partial ECMO for heart and lung support.

Early on April 17th, another complication arose when Cassie developed compartment syndrome in her left leg – a condition involving dangerous pressure buildup. She underwent an emergency fasciotomy procedure to relieve the pressure. This procedure confirmed significant muscle damage, and the doctors are concerned about the long-term function of the leg, acknowledging that amputation may become necessary. Cassie remained stable throughout the rest of the 17th.

As of today, Friday, April 18th, Cassie remains stable but is still in extremely critical condition in the ICU. There have been some small, positive steps forward: the bleeding in her leg is being managed, and progress is being made in reducing excess fluid in her body. She continues to require ECMO support. We were deeply encouraged to see her open her eyes again today during visits, and we were able to speak with her.

Cassie is fighting incredibly hard, and we know she feels the immense wave of love and support surrounding her. This remains a very critical time, and the road ahead is uncertain.

We will continue to provide daily updates on this page. To allow the immediate family to focus fully on Cassie and navigate this challenging time, we kindly ask that you please check here for the latest information before reaching out directly with questions.

Your continued prayers, positive thoughts, and support mean everything to Cassie and our entire family. Thank you for holding her in your hearts.

With gratitude,

The Family