Wisconsin woman overcomes heart failure, transplant to become 1st-time mom

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- One Wisconsin woman will celebrate Mother's Day as a first-time mom this weekend. 

However, her journey to motherhood is a story of survival. 

Susan Siegenthaler of Cambridge, Wisconsin was seven-and-a-half months pregnant when she was diagnosed with heart failure.

Then, within an eight-week span, the 38-year-old underwent a C-section and heart transplant surgery.

“We put together a huge team of experts at UW Health including surgeons, neonatologists, pediatricians, OB-GYNs, cardiologists, critical care teams, nurses and anesthesiologists to figure out what to do,” said Dr. Michael Beninati, maternal-fetal medicine specialist and critical care physician at UW Health. “At the end of this process around 30 doctors and dozens of nurses worked together to save Susan and her baby.”

Now, several months after the transplant, Susan says she's doing well and starting to feel like herself again. 

She also says her goal is to encourage more people to become donors.

"I never once thought about organ donation until now," said Siegenthaler. "I'm 38 and I never heard of anyone who had an organ donation or ever donated an organ. But now that I've had it, I'm talking to people and I see connections everywhere, so I just want to learn more about it."

This Mother's Day will be almost six months to the day when Susan advocated for her health. 

She says she's ready to celebrate, thanks to the gift of life from a stranger.

"Stevie was my fourth pregnancy in the last six years, with the other three ending in miscarriages, so my journey to motherhood has not been easy,” she said. “That’s why I am forever grateful to the amazing nurses and doctors who helped me finally get to be a mom.”