Live Life with an Open Heart

Update from Lili

Livelife — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:30:46 +0000

8/30/12: Yesterday August 29th was a very hard day for all of us, especially for Vicky. She was in surgery for 13 hours, as the doctor said “we went 6 hours over what we had predicted”, but Doctor and Vicky would not give up.

The first step was to repair her overgrown left ventricle then needed to correct the blood flow, followed by the aortic valve in. After all of this was done, they took off the bypass (machine) to see if Vicky’s heart would work without any help and it did; however, there was a lot of bleeding that needed to be stopped. Vicky’s blood was too thin and was not coagulating correctly, it was filtering through her heart stitches, which at this point made doctors reopen her chest, in order to stop it.

When reaching the 13th hour of surgery, one of the medications seem to work better, so doctors decided to take her out of the operating room and into the ICU unit for her to rest. Leaving her chest wound open, in case the medication was not good enough to stop the bleeding, so they could go back in an apply a different medication. They also left a provitional pacemaker to help the heart pump through the night and not force it. She did need another medication, because the bleeding started again, and finally, by 3 am (August 30th), the medication worked. This morning there was no need for anymore blood transfusions, and the doctors closed the wound, she will not need a pacemaker either, the two mechanical valves are working well.

This afternoon Vicky opened her eyes, recognized everybody around her, but she is tubbed up with a breather and cannot talk. When she saw her family around her, tears came out of her eyes. She is emotional and also in pain, but she is a trooper and she is doing well. The doctor said after the operation, “I told you I would not give up on her, and I didn’t”, neither did Vicky, she fought for her life and she made it.

She will be in ICU for a few days and she is still in a delicate condition, but the crisis is over, it will be a long and hard recuperation, but we are here to make easier for her to get well. I will see Vicky tomorrow, and I will spend the weekend with them in Miami, I promise I will keep you posted on her day by day recuperation.

The post Update from Lili appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Surgery Update

Livelife — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 03:21:13 +0000

8/29/12: (2:52pm) They are now closing the wound and will disconnect the machine to see if Vicky’s heart will function by itself, if it doesn’t, then they will proceed to put the pacemaker.

8/29/12: (1:24pm) Hi everybody, just wanted to keep you updated on Vicky’s surgery, she was taken to the operating room at 7:30 am this morning, she has been in surgery for a little over 5 hours now, she is connected to the machines, they have already corrected the left ventricle, they have also put the mechanic aortic valve in her heart, she is stable, within the next hour we should be having an update from the doctor to know at what level of the operation she is at, and also to know her condition.

The post Surgery Update appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Status Update

Livelife — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 03:19:44 +0000

8/27/12: Hi everybody, today Vicky had the catheter done, the doctor said that she will need an aortic mecanic valve, the left ventricule needs to be brought down to its normal size since it has over grown, also her blood fluid needs to be corrected, she is not getting enough blood pumped to her brain, due to the aortic valve malfunction, which has caused her to faint in 4 different ocations, this operation will be performed this wednesday August 29th, and it will take from 9 to 10 hours.

The post Status Update appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Latest Update to Vicky’s Surgery

Livelife — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:09:38 +0000

7/17/12: Based on the conversation with hospital financial staff yesterday, the administration requires a down payment of $29,965 today and the balance $162,080 before July 30^th in order to move forward with the procedure scheduled for tomorrow 7/18/12. At this time, the hospital is not considering the payment of the balance of the previous (2nd) surgery that was performed in 2012, which amounted to $300,000. The medical staff does not recommend to go ahead with the catheterisim unless the financial payment for Vicky’s heart surgery can be secured. Documents supporting this entry is being developed under the “About Vicky” menu and will soon be activated for further confirmation. Thank you for following Vicky’s journey.

The post Latest Update to Vicky’s Surgery appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Surgery Update

Livelife — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:50:28 +0000

7/12/12: Vicky just got word that she is scheduled to have her surgery next Wednesday July 18, 2012 at Miami’s Children’s Hospital

The post Surgery Update appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Vicky Arrives in Miami

Livelife — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 23:04:51 +0000

Vicky Arrives in Miami International airport for scheduled appointment

7/8/12: Vicky arrives at Miami International Airport for follow up appointment later this week.

The post Vicky Arrives in Miami appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.

Welcome to Live Life with an Open Heart

Livelife — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:31:17 +0000

The story of Vicky Cabrera has touch our lives in such a way that we are compelled to do all that we can in reaching our fundraising goals while Vicky reaches hers in mending her ailing heart back to optimal health. We are all proud and humbled to be a part of her journey.

The Live LIFE with an Open HEART team. (One Team – One Mission – One Goal)

Please feel free to start commenting on her blog. We thank you for your time, interest, and donation to Vicky’s cause.

The post Welcome to Live Life with an Open Heart appeared first on Live Life with an Open Heart.