and other caregivers who ensured
difficult to diagnose.
Mrs. Williams says, “I saw Mrs. Williams had the right care as
a lot of doctors before I saw Dr. her life hung in the balance.
In less than two months,
Scott. I’m so grateful I found him.”
Dr. Scott explained to her
that sarcoidosis could be
contracted from a virus, but it
was very unusual to find it in
WHAT IS SARCOIDOSIS?
the heart. This rare form of the
disease can be fatal and required
A handful of people in every 10,000 are
immediate treatment.
diagnosed with sarcoidosis. There is no
Mrs. Williams’ condition
known cause, but experts suspect it is
was especially fragile. A build-
an autoimmune disease, which means
up of granulomas, or masses
that the body may begin to “attack”
in her heart, produced an
itself. Diagnostic tests that include
irregular heartbeat. Though
chest X-ray, lung function tests, and
there is no cure for sarcoidosis, a
others are often utilized to confirm a
pacemaker was able to treat her
sarcoidosis diagnosis. Most sarcoidosis
symptoms, at least temporarily.
patients experience symptoms such as
Mrs. Williams eventually began
fatigue, persistent cough, shortness of
to experience heart failure, but
breath, swollen joints, blurred vision,
because of her fragile frame
weight loss, and more.
and increasing weight loss,
There is no cure for sarcoidosis, and its
Dr. Scott and his team agreed
severity varies greatly. In some cases
that she was too weak for
the disease goes away on its own, while
further invasive treatment such
in others it can cause organ damage.
as a heart pump. Mrs. Williams
Lifelong management of the disease
was then put on the list for a
includes proper diet and exercise,
heart transplant.
avoiding smoking, regular check-ups,
“She was pretty dire,” says
and in some cases medication.
Mr. Williams. “But we had
a great team of doctors and
nurses who cared for Toni.” The
team also included cardiologists Allan Mrs. Williams was on the road to
Anderson, MD, and Gregory Dehmer, recovery with a new heart. Chittoor
MD, vice president of cardiovascular Bhaskar Sai-Sudhakar, MD, division
services for Central Texas, nurses chief of cardiovascular surgery and
surgical director of the heart transplant
program at Scott & White Medical
Center – Temple, performed the heart
transplant. “The first thing he said to
me was, “You’re going to get a
beautiful heart and I want you to
take care of it,’” Mrs. Williams
recalls. Because sarcoidosis
cannot be cured, it is important
that Mrs. Williams continues to
follow a good diet, exercise, and
avoid allergens. She also will take
anti-rejection medicine for the
rest of her life.
“They’re all my heroes,” she
says, patting her heart. “It was
a long road and sometimes I
felt like I was falling apart. I get
emotional now, because I’m here
and I almost wasn’t. I’m just
enjoying my life now. I wake up
every day, and I think about the
little girl now living in me, and
I’m so grateful. Everyone has just
been awesome,” she says.
Donating has taken on a
special dual meaning for the
Williamses, who are advocates
of organ donation and the new
transplantation suite that will
open in the new Surgical Sciences
Building. “I’d recommend that
anyone go to Baylor Scott &
White, and consider donating,” says
Mrs. Williams. “They save so many
lives. There are no words to say how
thankful I am.” n
bswhealth.com | Fall 17 THE CATALYST
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