I'm reaching out again for God's help and support from friends, family, and those willing to support Amanda!
She has not done well throughout the past 6 months. Not much healing going on and she is going down an unknown path.
She finally had MRIs done of her brain, cervical, thoracic and lumbar. They've discovered a Tarlov cyst in the sacrum (tailbone) area. These cysts are very rare and cause extreme pain, numbness and electronic "zaps" in her torso, down through her toes. Also, numbing her internal organs... stomach, intestinal, etc.
It's similar to a garden hose with a weak area that begins to bulge as water fills in. The cyst has filled with spinal fluid and also pressing on the nerves around it... which would explain the lack of feeling in her torso from the ribcage on down. She can walk, sit, etc. but has no sensation of feeling her body making these movements.
Here is a link to the Dallas specialty Dr explaining this condition...
https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7voCqggR4XkSTe7EjxDz2r1aQFoQhH3U The GoFundMe available for donations:
https://gofund.me/62a49df4OR SEND DIRECTLY TO:
MaryLou Oppelt/Amanda
525 Robert St Unit 111
Pierz Mn 56364
Donations will be deposited into Farmers & Merchants Bank in Pierz.
Who knew she’d have a heart attack at 42😓🙏🏼
This is Mary Lou Roden-Becker-Oppelt, Amanda Becker-Felske's mother. Amanda had been dealing with some serious medical issues that had been going on since October-November 2021. She was having issues with severe swelling, pain and neuropathy in her feet and legs... also limited feeling from the mid-waist down. No feeling in her fingertips. She did see her primary Dr who diagnosed her with neuropathy and was put on meds to help with that, they didn't look for other issues at that time. The Dr didn't know and neither did Amanda know that she actually had blood clots forming in her heart, arteries and lungs... limiting the flow of blood and oxygen to the extremities of the body.
Tuesday, March 2: Steve, her brother and I finally convinced Amanda to go to the ER in Brainerd. She was not getting much oxygen and was extremely ill. She was struggling to breathe, very pale and nauseous. They did a CT scan and saw she had many blood clots in her lungs. They partially stabilized her and quickly transferred her by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital. While she was in St Cloud, they discovered she had also had a clot behind her right knee and had a large clot in the lower right lobe of her heart. The Drs were trying to decide how and what method would best way to remove the clots in her lungs. Around 2 PM, they decided it would be safer to fly her down to the U of M in the cities. She was prepped and ready to go for flight around 3 PM. Meanwhile, the family left to meet at the hospital. While enroute, the hospital called, telling us to return to St. Cloud... Amanda had flatlined. She had had a heart attack around 3:30 as they were transferring her from the room bed to the Lifelink helicopter. Thankfully she was still in the heart unit at St Cloud, they started CPR using the LUCAS machine. They finally got a pulse after 30 minutes. They surgically connected an ECMO unit to Amanda, bypassing the heart and lungs, that machine would pump/control the blood, while adding oxygen, throughout her body, by-passing the heart and lungs. It was her only lifeline to survive the ride to the U of Mn Fairview Hospital.
At U of Mn in the Cities, the surgeons were able to remove many of the blood clots in her lungs, but due to the blood thinner she was already given, many of the spots continued to bleed. At that point they stopped the procedure. There are still more clots to be removed at a later time. She needed to have some "down time" for a while. The Drs needed to regroup with their ideas.
Luckily, I ran into the group of Dr's and surgeons who has done the first part of clot removal, and the nursing staff who had been monitoring her daily. We had an impromptu meeting where I learned so much more. Based on the recent scans and tests, she has limited heart function and may have suffered some brain damage. They are still testing her, running scans and comparing notes on everything. Amanda is in a sedated state at this time. They are going to wait for a day or two be for trying to remove more of the blood clots in her lungs.
Friday: March 4...They began slowly tapering her off the "sleep meds" allowing Amanda to "wake up". It could take hours or days for that to happen as it takes time for the meds to filter out of her system. Hopefully then they will be able to find out if there was any brain damage, or damage to her liver and kidneys. Currently there is very minimal liver function, her kidneys are functioning very slowly. No motor reactions yet. They are hoping that the meds they have her on will slowly dissolve the clot in her heart, without it breaking off as one big clot.
I have started a GoFundMe account for Amanda as well. Amanda is a tough girl, and I have faith she will come out of this, but it will be a long journey for her. Please keep Amanda and her family in your prayers during this challenging time! God bless you all!!
https://gofund.me/62a49df4 
