Dalene

I spent 5 months in hospital. I thought I was never going to recover! I am truly thankful that I found Lifegain® shake that provided me with the additional advanced nutritional support that I needed to assist with my recovery and get my life back.

After struggling with chronic fatigue, dizziness and lethargy I was diagnosed with Mitral Stenosis, a narrowing of the heart valves.

I needed immediate emergency open heart surgery as I was experiencing right sided cardiac failure!  My aortic valve was also leaking but my doctor felt that this could be repaired at a later stage.

I was told that the procedure would entail 3 days in ICU, 4 days in the normal ward and then 8 weeks at home to recover.

The surgery involved cutting into the breastbone (the thickest bone in the body) and meant that I needed sufficient bed rest to ensure that the bone knitted together before returning to normal daily life.

Unfortunately, I had several serious complications.  My liver became enlarged and two weeks later my lungs collapsed in five litres of fluid.  Four weeks later I had double pneumonia and five weeks later I had an intercostal drain infection.  I went into hyper fibrillation twice and my heart had to be paddled back into rhythm.

After 8 weeks of severe complications the doctors sadly reported that I needed to undergo open heart surgery for the second time to replace the aortic valve.

During this period, I was unable to eat as I could not keep down anything.  I tried several shake supplements, but nothing would stay down.  Even water tasted bitter and I struggled to tolerate any form of sustenance that I was given.

My weight had dropped to around 43 kilograms and the doctors let me know that I would have to be given a feeding tube after the surgery to ensure that my body was supported with the nutrition it needed to recover.

I had the second open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve but struggled as my body and immune system were under significant stress.  To make matters worse, I also contracted a fungal infection in my mainline which resulted in a further extension of my already extended stay in hospital.

Then my pulmonologist suggested that I try Lifegain^® shake.   I tried the vanilla flavour and I managed to keep it down.  It was agreed that if I could consume at least two servings of Lifegain^® shake a day I would not need a feeding tube.

I started to thrive and flourish as well as regain my strength and stamina.  My rehabilitation process finally took a turn for the better.

Lifegain^® assisted me to regain my health. I still use Lifegain^® shake to support my nutrition today.