Jake Heart Transplant & TBI Recovery

In summer 2015, at 25, Jacob Gonzales caught a virus and within a week he went into heart, respiratory, kidney and liver failure. Over the course of two months he was revived well over fifty times, had a dozen surgeries, five of which were open heart, massive brain injury and eventually placed on a mechanical heart pump. He woke up fall 2015 unable to breathe on his own, move/control any part of his body or speak. After gaining some basic communication skills and the ability to sit up to use a wheelchair, he went home and twelve days later welcomed his first child and daughter, Eden with his wife Ali. Over the past year and a half Jake has relearned how to speak, breathe, feed himself, stand and began the long process of relearning to walk all while traveling and calling transplant centers in the US asking to see if they would consider giving him a heart transplant. In December of 2016 he was accepted by one program at University of Chicago as the highest risk and highest priority transplant status. On May 24, 2017 he was given the gift of life through heart transplant. He is working his way back from total disability and requiring 24 hour care. He is determined to live his life to the fullest and be the best father to his little girl.