I Had Surgery for a Rare Birth Defect

After 36 years of symptoms, I finally underwent surgery for a rare birth defect known as Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, or MALS. In this video, I'll take you along through the whole experience. Thanks for watching!
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[@belkisbekibelperez1646]

I'm so happy for you and your family. I would love to speak to someone else like me. Right now just discovering your site is a joy and I'm so thankful. Keep getting better and stay blessed.

[@AngelaHepp]

Welcome, and thank you for your kind words. I hope you find encouragement and information here that helps you to not feel so alone. You're also welcome to come find me on Instagram, instagram.com/hope_essentials

[@belkisbekibelperez1646]

@@AngelaHepp thank you Mrs. Angie. I will definitely be looking you up on Instagram. 🙏

[@gaiayoyo]

You are so brave and I love how you just kept fighting for yourself. Take care.♡

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@jackiecat101XD]

I never heard of MALS until now but woah! I don’t know how you got through pregnancies with this! The amount of eating that has to happen is insane and the lack of space with a baby crushing all your organs must have been insane!! I’m so happy you are feeling better and wow you’re an amazing mom!

[@TonyHepp]

Thank you for the update! I hope your recovery continues to go well.

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you so much!

[@katjorbar]

You are a beautiful ray of sunshine, health issues notwithstanding. Great to see such a shining, beautiful example on YT.

[@27466]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I've had abdominal pain for 20+ years and the last two years have been particularly painful. Finally found a PCP who doesn't think I need to meditate the pain away and thinks it might be MALS. The information in your videos is extremely helpful as I navigate testing, etc. Thank you again!

[@AngelaHepp]

I'm so glad the video was helpful, and I'm glad you found a doctor who's willing to help you! That's huge! ❤️

[@makennawitherow5301]

i’m having MALS surgery in 17 days and i’m super super nervous like i’m so scared and i’m praying it helps and ahhh i’m excited but scared!! your video really helped me in so glad you are doing better and mals pain went away!! i hope your POTS gets better!! 💛💛

[@AngelaHepp]

I hope it all goes well! I 100% don't regret having surgery, and would do it again tomorrow. You've got this!! 💪

[@Thejordanrenae]

God is so good! I missed your videos, it's great to have you back 😊

[@AngelaHepp]

Amen, yes He is! Thank you for your kind words!

[@JaySain69]

Thanx for sharing info on Mal surgery, glad to see it went well

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you so much!

[@Hahahaha-uj9pu]

Wish you good luck

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you!

[@mattely6774]

Thank you for sharing. Hope you recover well!

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you, Matt!

[@mattely6774]

@@AngelaHepp Welcome! I'd have no knowledge of MALS without your videos, so you're spreading awareness, which is great. And of course, we will pray for your recovery and health.

[@Michelle-xk9gl]

I was at the Ronald McDonald House at the same time and remember your family. Glad you're doing well.

[@AngelaHepp]

Oh wow! So cool!

[@sonofhibbs4425]

I’m surprised you have 3 children with this. I’m wondering if the symptoms got worse after pregnancy? I found out about MALS after researching abdominal separation because of my upper abdominal pain. I am not pregnant nor was pregnant, but I gained a massive amount of weight quickly while on bed rest because of illness a year. I look pregnant (well, not so much now as I have been losing weight) and I’m wondering if pregnancy fir you contributed to this condition. I highly suspect I have EDS and MACAS and possibly POTS (all my life) but the weight gain I feel contributed to what I now suspect is MALS. Just wondering if you saw a correlation with your pregnancies. By the way- beautiful family! I’m so happy fir you that you got through the surgery well. I hope you’re feeling much better. Thank you fir your videos. I’m terrified to have surgery if I need it and this helps.

[@AngelaHepp]

Yes, I definitely saw a decline in my health after each pregnancy, especially after my third. That was the point when I got so bad that it was impossible to explain away, so that's what led to my diagnosis.

[@sonofhibbs4425]

@@AngelaHepp this is so helpful! Thank you!

[@AngelaHepp]

You're welcome!

[@landon_n_n]

I'm so glad it's gone ! Keep up the fight and I hope your pots and other problems are truly fixed and gone away with 😃😃😃😃👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you so much! It's not likely that my other conditions will ever go away, because they are genetic, but better symptom management and maximizing my quality of life is what I'm hoping for at this point. :) My wheelchair has made a huge difference in that area, so I'll be doing a video on that soon.

[@trira1171]

Wow! You are a warrior! Angie, do some research on whether WIM hof breathing technique has any benefits for your situation... maybe it can help. Because it seems to help in lots of auto-immune disorders.

[@AngelaHepp]

I have looked into that, thank you. My condition is not autoimmune, but genetic, so it would be like trying to change the color of my eyes.

[@trira1171]

@@AngelaHepp OH, I had hoped that it would be of some help to you. 😔 Anything else I can think of which might help you: 1) DIP diet of Dr Biswaroop Roy 2) Inclined Bed Therapy (I can see that you are sort of malnourished right now, so maybe you could use some modified version of DIP diet.) Hoping for your quick recovery. 🤗

[@buzzcagney8096]

Happy for you and your family. Belated Merry Christmas. I cant believe anyone would downvote this video.

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you, too. 😊 ❤️

[@mohammedsuhaib737]

Plz tell me ...in which hospital and which doctor do this surgery ...?

[@AngelaHepp]

It's in the video. But the surgeon is retired now anyway. 😔

[@guitarlearningtoplay]

Is your POTS better now?

[@AngelaHepp]

Sadly, no. Since my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is the underlying cause of my POTS, there won't ever be a cure for me. But it's very well managed right now with IV fluids and Corlanor. (I also have another form of dysautonomia, IST.)

[@avavandemark4538]

Are you still having pain? And also are you doing better.

[@AngelaHepp]

I'm no longer having MALS pain, but yes, I still have pain every day from my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

[@zaidhassani9176]

Is there a reason that you did open surgery instead of the 5 or 6 Incisions

[@AngelaHepp]

It's far safer and higher success rates.

[@scv7571]

Good to see you recovered! How fast you started eating raw meats after recovery?

[@AngelaHepp]

I could eat a completely normal diet about 2 months after surgery.

[@scv7571]

@@AngelaHepp As because of surgery you must have gone through a " long course of antibiotics" and did you try reculturing your gut(probiotics any?)? Please do a video about that.

[@AngelaHepp]

Actually, I did not take any antibiotics at all. But i still take a daily probiotic supplement and eat fermented/cultured foods like raw milk kefir, kombucha, etc. I have videos on these in my Nourishing Foods playlist.

[@scv7571]

@@AngelaHepp Do you mean doctors didn't prescribe any antibiotics OR you didn't care to swallow them after surgery?

[@AngelaHepp]

@@scv7571 They did not prescribe any because I did not need any.

[@user-je1sf6pc6q]

Anyone know how Angie is doing now? It’s been a over year since her surgery. Thanks.

[@AngelaHepp]

Things have been crazy and I haven't been able to upload a new video, but I'm still here. 😊 My health rapidly declined last fall until I was nearly dead from starvation. They put in a feeding tube and portacath and it turned out my Nutcracker Syndrome had worsened so much that my renal vein was 100 % occluded. The surgeon and interventional radiologist said it was one of the worst they'd ever seen. I had a kidney auto-transplant last month and have been in the hospital more than out the past few months. I'm slowly recovering, but my POTS is debilitating right now and I still can't eat enough to sustain my weight so I'm still tube fed and get IV fluids 3x a week. If you want more current updates, I post more on my Instagram, instagram.com/_havenhomestead_

[@CameliaKind]

Oh, Angie, I am so sorry to hear that. I stumbled upon your videos about your eye improvement journey and I liked your humble and kind spirit so much that I watched other videos including the ones about your syndromes. I feel very sad to hear you’ve been struggling so much for the past months. I wish you recovery and also I want to suggest a book that could possibly give some spiritual support at these times. It’s called True Refuge, written by Tara Brach. I’ve read other her books and they’re very comforting and insightful. I haven’t read this one but I heard that people with chronic illnesses find it very helpful.

[@arithenugget5569]

Why didn’t they go laparoscopically????????

[@AngelaHepp]

Because it's far more risky. My surgeon has performed hundreds of these operations and when the artery has been compressed for years, or decades, he has seen it fall apart once the ligament is removed. Kind of like when you leave a rubber band on your finger for a long time and the skin gets all white and the tissue eventually breaks down. So when the ligament is cut away, if the artery blows, it would be nearly impossible to stop the bleeding if the surgery was performed laparascopically. Whereas if it's done open, the surgeon can quickly clamp and repair the artery. So while open surgery is a harder recovery, it's less risky than lap for this particular condition.

[@bluewave8212]

did you end up having to use an eye mask when you were in the hospital?

[@AngelaHepp]

Yes. I brought my sleep mask with me and used it every night. There's no way I could sleep with all the light in those hospital rooms.

[@_baller]

Cute face 😉

[@AngelaHepp]

Thank you!