‘Life had other plans’

Re-connected classmates work to turn tragedy into hope

by Michelle Watson

The Waldron family knows first hand how one tragic event can upend your life and put you on a whole different journey.  But through their faith, their love for one another and special friends that have stepped in to help, they have learned there is hope at the end of long, dark tunnels.

“Life had other plans for all of us,” said Rita Waldron, of Ventura.  “It felt like we were in a bad medical emergency show or movie; only this was our reality.”

Anthony Waldron, the son of Brian and Rita Waldron, had a normal childhood.  He graduated from Ventura High School in 2005, where he was active in football, band, FFA and 4-H.  He loved agriculture and the outdoors.  Following graduation, he continued his schooling at Northwest Iowa Area Community College, in Sheldon, where he completed a two-year power line trades program.  Following college, he was hired by Alliant Energy in Marshalltown, where he worked in both power and gas line work.  In 2010, he got married and adopted a son, Jacob, who is now 19. He later divorced.  In September 2017, he got engaged and was planning a wedding in June 2018.

Life began to change for Anthony in the fall of 2017.  At the age of 30, he started experiencing flu like symptoms.  In December of that year, he learned that his left bicuspid aortic heart valve was leaking and only functioning at 50 percent and that he had iron deficiency anemia.  While at work on March 27, 2018, he began to experience numbness in his face and tongue and was not talking correctly.  He was rushed to a hospital in Ames where they learned he had a small brain aneurysm and stroke.  They also determined he had endocarditis, a life-threatening inflammation of the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves.  Tests also showed infection was pocketing around his heart valves.

“At this point in Anthony’s health journey, he was aware of what was going on, he was able to talk and had input into his care and medical decisions,” said Rita.  “Due to the infection, doctors were concerned about doing the risky heart surgery.  We all decided it would be best to transfer Anthony to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.”

April 11, 2018 was the day the doctors deemed Anthony ready to undergo surgery.

“Little did we know this would be the last time we would hear his silly jokes and routine teasing that he administered to others on a daily basis,” said Rita.

The heart surgery to replace the valve went well.  The family was allowed into his room and although intubated, he could respond with nods and hand motions.  But things took a drastic turn when Anthony’s blood pressure dropped and he became non-responsive.  The family was moved aside as the medical team jumped into action.

“After what seemed like an eternity, they came and told us that Anthony had a major brain bleed and fluid pressure was building on his brain,” said Rita.  “They took him for another surgery to relieve the large amount of pressure on Anthony’s brain. They also gave us the option of letting Anthony pass away.  But because doctors told us there was still brain activity, we asked them to fight hard for his life.”

Anthony had several surgeries to correct brain bleeds and he also had a massive stroke that impacted the left side of his body.  The surgeries were a success and the brain bleed was stopped.