Warren Westvig

Welcome to Warren's CaringBridge website. We're going to use this to keep each of you updated on his progress. Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words and the support you've shown us already during this time.


On March 4, Warren was at a friend's house helping shovel the Minnesota snow off their roof. While shoveling he started having trouble breathing. After some time he decided to come down to take a break on the front porch. He started having some chest pains and thought it was best if he drove home to take a nap. While walking towards the car, our friends noticed him staggering and convinced him it best to sit inside their home and they called 911.


Sue was called at her school and was able to get to Warren in time to ride with him in the ambulance to Fairview Southdale. It was here where he was rushed through the ER, directly to the Cath Lab, which was transformed into an OR. Warren had 98% blockage in his heart vessels and they were able to put in 4 stents. They sedated him, intubated him to help him breathe, and transferred him to the University of Minnesota Hospital. He's been here since Monday night.


Once he arrived at UofMN, he was put in a medically-induced coma. The first night he was given 9 blood transfusions and continued hourly throughout the day on Tuesday. They lowered his body temperature in order to protect his brain and allow his body to rest for 24 hours. Tuesday night they started to rewarm his body temp and that went without incident. Wednesday morning they tried to lower the ECMO/heart and lung machine, but his body was not ready to start working on its own again. They decided to let him sleep again for 24 hours.


Now we wait on the Lord for the miracle he's going to provide. We thank each one of you for the texts, prayers, hospital visits, and encouraging words. Keep them coming. We will continue to update you here as Warren continues to heal.