After receiving treatment in her home state for a gastrointestinal condition, Vivian Gardner began experiencing new, debilitating cardiac symptoms. This led her, with her husband and two young children, to move across the country for care at Mayo Clinic. Today, Vivian works with the cardiology specialists who gave her hope, sharing her story with patients facing similar challenges.

---

For many years, Vivian Gardner cooked meals for her husband and young children but could not enjoy them herself. Since she was a young girl, she's experienced gastrointestinal issues.

By her mid-20s, she relied on total parenteral nutrition, a method of delivering a specialized form of food through a vein to bypass the gastrointestinal tract. She also had a port in her chest for regular intravenous immunoglobin infusions.

Vivian made the best of her situation until one day a new, troubling symptom appeared: shortness of breath.

She decided to see a cardiologist in her home state. The cardiologist diagnosed her with atrial fibrillation, or AFib, a condition in which the heart beats abnormally. In her case, it was initially thought to be caused by malnutrition.

That diagnosis led to multiple cardiac ablations and, eventually, surgery to implant a pacemaker. It also marked the beginning of a long, emotionally and physically challenging journey to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Health rapidly declining, Vivian takes research into her own hands

Vivian's health took a turn for the worse after a procedure to replace the port in her chest.

That evening, when she laid down to go to sleep, she felt like she was suffocating, and her blood oxygen level dropped. After seeking help from her cardiologist, she received an unexpected diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.

"I didn't understand why, all of a sudden, I developed pulmonary hypertension," Vivian says. "I was young and had no indication of this during any previous testing, and no one had an answer for me."

Vivian tried medication to control the pulmonary hypertension, but her symptoms continued to worsen.

"I could not cook for my husband and kids. I needed help getting dressed. I had to hold on to walls to get to the bathroom. I was only getting a few hours of sleep at night because of the constant chest pressure," Vivian says. "I was in college at the time, working to become a dietitian, and was struggling to walk through campus. I missed events for my kids."

Vivian sought help from a pulmonary hypertension clinic and was diagnosed with severe pulmonary vein stenosis and a stiff left atrium, complications from having multiple cardiac ablations.

While this provided an explanation for her pulmonary hypertension, it didn't bring the comfort she had hoped for.

"It was hard on me. I felt frustrated that I went in for procedures to help with another diagnosis but then ended up with a completely life-changing one," Vivian says. "I struggled emotionally with the fact that my children were so young and so much had been taken from us already."

Shortly after the diagnosis, Vivian underwent a procedure to stent her pulmonary veins to improve blood flow. Unfortunately, the surgeon was only successful at stenting one of four pulmonary veins, which did not improve her symptoms.

They were honest with me and said my prognosis was poor and Mayo was my only hope.

Vivian Gardner

After a month at the clinic, Vivian desperately wanted to go home and see her family.

The doctors at the clinic indicated Vivian needed a heart and double lung transplant, but they weren't comfortable doing it because of her comorbidities. They felt Mayo Clinic would be better equipped to handle that and agreed to discharge her under the condition she got in at Mayo, which they helped coordinate.

"They said Mayo Clinic has a team in Rochester that specializes in pulmonary vein stenosis and may also be willing to provide a heart and double lung transplant if that needed to happen," Vivian says. "They were honest with me and said my prognosis was poor and Mayo was my only hope."

With little hope left, Vivian is referred to Mayo Clinic

Vivian raised funds and flew to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for an appointment.  

She recalls the glimmer of hope she felt when she arrived, stepped into the Gonda Building, and saw people from all over the world.

They took the time to listen to me and empathize. They recognized that this had changed my life completely and genuinely wanted to help.

Vivian gARDNER

"I just thought, 'This place has to be something if people from all over the world are here,'" Vivian says. "Then I saw how streamlined the lab was and how quickly I had results in my patient portal, and I started to feel safe and hopeful that my care team would figure something out."

Mayo Clinic confirmed Vivian's local diagnosis of pulmonary vein stenosis, a stiff left atrium and pulmonary hypertension.

Vivian met with several physicians, including Charles Jain, M.D., William Miranda, M.D., and Trevor Simard, M.D. in Cardiology, who all agreed that a transplant would be a last resort.

During her appointments, Vivian was impressed by the empathy she was met with.

"They took the time to listen to me and empathize. They recognized that this had changed my life completely and genuinely wanted to help," Vivian says.

Ultimately, Dr. Simard recommended again attempting to stent her pulmonary veins. Imaging revealed that the one she previously had stented had already closed.  

Mayo team gives Vivian her life back

Vivian underwent three complex procedures, during which all four pulmonary veins were stented successfully.

She recalls that Dr. Simard spent hours studying her anatomy and trying to figure out how to access her last pulmonary vein.

"By some miracle, he was able to figure it out," Vivian says.

The night after the final procedure, Vivian had no low oxygen readings when lying down.

After a few weeks, she could do things she hadn't been able to in a long time, like getting dressed by herself, showering and going out with her family. She was even able to go hiking with her husband.

"It was so freeing, and I felt so grateful that I regained some normalcy," Vivian says.

Although it felt amazing to have her life back, Vivian knew she would likely need to return to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for ongoing intervention. It was something she and Dr. Simard discussed at length.

"He told us, 'Look, you already have a history of one [stent] closing. You'll likely have to return and have them cleaned out," Vivian says. "I appreciated his honesty."

Vivian moves across the country for ongoing care and to work at Mayo Clinic

Vivian and her family decided their best hope was to uproot their lives and move across the country to Chatfield, Minnesota, about 25 minutes southeast of Rochester.

When they arrived and settled in, Vivian knew she wanted to give back to Mayo Clinic and do something positive, so she decided to apply to work at Mayo.

She was hired initially as a desk operations specialist in Nephrology and more recently transitioned to a medical secretary role in Cardiology. Today, she works alongside the doctors who helped her regain her life and shares her story with patients, so they know they're not alone in their experiences.

"I knew I needed to put my energy into something positive," Vivian says. "Now I get to share my story with patients and show them the same care and kindness that was given to me. It means everything."

She says being on the staff side has been rewarding and reinforced how much Mayo Clinic's physicians, nurses and supporting staff genuinely care for the patients that walk through its doors.

"Everyone is so dedicated to finding new ways to support patients, spend more time with them, and ensure they receive the best care they can while at Mayo Clinic," Vivian says. "We all can make a difference at Mayo Clinic. Even if it is not our physical hands doing the healing, our words, empathy and dedication to help are powerful."

It has proven true that Vivian has needed ongoing intervention, but she admits she's still much better off than before she came to Mayo Clinic. She knows she still has a journey ahead of her, but because of Mayo Clinic and the care she has received and continues to receive here, she can look ahead with hope.  

"Mayo Clinic means hope. At other places, you are shuffled around and wait months for appointments, which ultimately leads to the patient's decline," Vivian says. "At Mayo, everyone works together so closely and efficiently that it's hard to feel anything other than hope when you walk through those doors."