Kurt Shea

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated on Kurt's current medical condition and our family in one place. This will be the primary vehicle for communication we will be using, so please check back here for updates.  

On Friday, November 11th, Kurt was brought to the ER with chest pains.  The hospital ruled out blockages and blood clots in the chest.  They advised a stress test and angiogram (potential angioplasty) for as early next week as possible. They wanted to keep Kurt overnight for observation, but Kurt preferred to rest at home.  At approximately 10:30 PM Friday night, Kurt went into VFib at home before going into full cardiac arrest.  Thank God Tracy and Sam were both home, kept Kurt's airway open, with the help of 911 operator, and got emergency care dispatched to Kurt immediately.  Kurt's pulse and breathing were restored after persistent CPR and 3 AED treatments. 

He was rushed to St. Josephs ER where he received further treatment and assessment.  A catscan of his brain confirmed there was no bleeding.  As his blood pressure stabilized, he was sedated and put into a medically induced coma while they delivered "Cardiac Hypothermia" treatment.  This brings his body temperature down to 33 degrees celsius to prevent neurological/brain damage related to the lack of oxygen and blood flow to his brain during the time he was in full arrest to the time he was revived. 

After 24 hours in the hypothermic state, (10 am Sunday) the medical staff began warming his body to 36.5 degrees and reducing his sedation medicine to examine his neurological condition. 

That is what we know so far.   At this time, it is not known "why" Kurt's heart went into "VFib" as he has not experienced rhythm issues in the past, only blockages (electrical vs. plumbing).   Therefore, his prognosis and treatment beyond is also not known at this time. 

As you can imagine, this experience has been very traumatic Kurt and his entire family, especially Tracy and Sam who were there with Kurt and will never forget those images.  Please lift Kurt, Tracy, and the boys in your prayers during this very, very difficult time.

As some of you  know, Tracy is recovering from a concussion and still is battling some of those symptoms.  She has done her best to update as many as people as she can through different outlets.  She is so worried about making sure she is responding to people,  keeping people updated and not forgetting anyone that we wanted to get this set up to ease that worry and enable her to just update in one place for everyone at the same time.  We will try to provide a daily update at minimum here, so please continue visiting for updates.

We appreciate your love, prayers, support, and words of hope and encouragement more than words can even express.