03/10/2025
Update on Autumn Jiles via her son Alex Heard
My mother is very sick; we're currently on day 11 at UAB following her emergency flight from St. Vincent's Blount. Almost two weeks ago, she called me in a panic from pain in her chest and back. Shortly after rushing her to the hospital, it was discovered that she had suffered from a descending aortic aneurysm. The dissection measures nearly 46 cm in length, which is almost the entirety of her lower aorta. It has been a roller coaster of emotions since we stepped into UAB. Traditionally, an aneurysm of this sort can be treated medically to ensure its stability prior to surgery, but due to an underlying lung problem, mom has been subjected to a ventilator. Her condition deteriorated rapidly over the last 24 hours, and I got a dreadful call this morning from the doctor requesting to put her on the ECMO. For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, it's often used to serve as a bridge between people in need of a transplant. For now, she's responded well, and her levels are good. The team of doctors following her case have described it as unusual and not textbook. The focus has shifted to her lungs, and they've taken priority over the aneurysm. As it sits, mom isn't eligible for a transplant, so the lungs she has will have to make improvements, as the ECMO isn't sustainable. It's been 11 days since I've spoken with my mother, and I don't know what the next hour holds, let alone the next few days or weeks. She's been showered with love and support from people in her circle, and I've refrained from speaking on it because of the intimacy of the situation. I've had to make hard decisions on her behalf the last few days, and I hope I've done right by her thus far. I know she is in the most capable hands available, and she's already made it further than a lot of people get to see. I'm praying for a miracle and this to serve as a divine intervention for her moving forward. If you know my mother, you know she pours from an empty cup and seldom takes time to care for herself. I believe this is a culmination of 41 years of doing so. I beg anyone in a similar spot with their health, weight, lifestyle, diet, etc., to take measures to turn it around and aggressively pursue another route. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your kids, because these aren't problems I anticipated dealing with at 23 years old with a 41-year-old mother. I feel as if I need my mom more now than I ever have, and seeing her in such a fragile state is disheartening, to say the least. She's a proud and stubborn woman; I just hope and pray she's stubborn enough to pull through this as well.
