Moorhead City Council member Heather Nesemeier
MOORHEAD (KFGO KVRR) – Watching Heather Nesemeier tend to her garden at her Moorhead home, you’d likely have no idea that she’s days away from a life-altering surgery, set to take place next Monday.
The tribulations began early last year as she began to have issues with her digestive tract that manifested in many ways.
“It was hard to narrow it down,” Nesemeier said. “Was it Crohn’s Disease? Was it ischemic colitis? Was it ulcerative colitis? We went through the gamut.”
Her colon ruptured, which required emergency lifesaving surgery. Nesemeier was diagnosed with idiopathic myointimal hyperplasia of mesenteric veins, or IMHMV. The rare disease was just discovered in 1991, and as of 2021, only 34 cases have ever been reported. Veins in her colon become unable to circulate the proper amount of blood, causing the tissue to die.
Nesemeier has one further surgery to take out the affected tissue, after which point she should be able to manage her condition through regular checkups and tests.
However, it will require a good chunk of recovery time, and she’s already used all of her sick leave. Her support network is asking fellow state of Minnesota employees to donate their vacation hours.
“So far I’ve been able to receive 4 1/2 weeks. My expected recovery time will be 8 to 12 weeks,” she said.
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