Cara Astolfi’s Story…

In early 1983, when I was 4 years old, I went into a hospital in Fall River, MA, to have my tonsils removed. During the operation, my temperature spiked and the muscles in my body went rigid, indicating a Malignant Hyperthermia reaction. Luckily, doctors had the drugs on hand needed to combat the reaction and keep me alive. You see, that same year, at that same hospital, another little girl had died of the same Malignant Hyperthermia reaction so the hospital was hyper-vigilant. I believe that this prior event saved my life! After the surgery, I stayed in the ICU for 4 days while they monitored my recovery. After being released back home, my immediate and extended families went for extensive testing to see if any other family members had the characteristics related to MH. As an adult I have had 2 minor surgeries, both given with MH precautions and both completely successful.

As told by Cara Astolfi

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