Gisella's Special Heart
Donation protected
My niece Gisella will be having open heart surgery on September 12th 2016. My brother, his wife Gerlly and their 3 beautiful girls currently live in Virginia but will be traveling to Houston, Texas for Gisella's surgery and will remain there for at least 1 month. They are a single income family and during this time my brother will be taking time off to be with Gisella and help care for his girls. I am asking family and friends to consider making a small donation no (amount is too small) to help them with covering the following expenses.
Hotel Stay
Parking each day at the hospital
Food
Airline tickets
Hospital Bills
This is the story of my niece Gisella as told by her Dad my brother Julio.
Our journey began when our daughter Gisella Pons was born on May 5, 2006 with a condition called Truncus Arteriosus type II, a rare life threatening CHD. We discovered this through a routine check-up when the doctor could not find all of the chambers of the heart while she was still developing in the womb. We were told that she needed to have several open heart surgeries and that if the aortic valve remained without repair she would not live past the age of 2. We did our homework and called around, and on a very short notice we flew to Houston to meet with the specialist at Texas Children's Hospital. Soon after we made plans for my wife to move to Houston as I remained in Orlando to work so that Gisella could get the best possible care once she was born. On May 5th, 2006 our beautiful daughter was born and quickly whisked away to ICU. After a few days, they surgically implanted a pick line and prepared her for her open heart surgery. They used a donor valve from a little boy that had passed away at the hospital to do the repair, we were sad but grateful for such a beautiful gift. The procedure went smooth but following the procedure she had some complications and were told that Gisella was rejecting the valve because she had contracted a the staph infection. Gisella was released from the hospital 90 days after care. For the first 4 years of her life, Gisella had many restrictions and spent much of her time visiting Doctors. We were told to limit her exposure to other people and keep things very clean because she had a low immune system. Our medical bills were never ending and between hospital stay and post care we reached over 2 million in charges. The insurance became a nightmare to deal with and between co-pays and therapies we did not know where to turn other than my retirement. Aside of the financial strain we were happy to have Gisella home and figured God would provide. My wife was laid off when Gisella was 3, her job only wanted her full time and we could not risk Gisella's health. Gisella is now 10 years old and she has taught me that miracles do exist. Other than getting easily fatigued and having a heart that sounds like a symphony she looks and acts like any normal child. As Gisella has grown her heart valve has not grown with her and so the time has come for Gisella to have open heart surgery once again. On September 12, 2016 we ask for prayers and support in whatever form that may be.
Be blessed!
Julio Pons
Hotel Stay
Parking each day at the hospital
Food
Airline tickets
Hospital Bills
This is the story of my niece Gisella as told by her Dad my brother Julio.
Our journey began when our daughter Gisella Pons was born on May 5, 2006 with a condition called Truncus Arteriosus type II, a rare life threatening CHD. We discovered this through a routine check-up when the doctor could not find all of the chambers of the heart while she was still developing in the womb. We were told that she needed to have several open heart surgeries and that if the aortic valve remained without repair she would not live past the age of 2. We did our homework and called around, and on a very short notice we flew to Houston to meet with the specialist at Texas Children's Hospital. Soon after we made plans for my wife to move to Houston as I remained in Orlando to work so that Gisella could get the best possible care once she was born. On May 5th, 2006 our beautiful daughter was born and quickly whisked away to ICU. After a few days, they surgically implanted a pick line and prepared her for her open heart surgery. They used a donor valve from a little boy that had passed away at the hospital to do the repair, we were sad but grateful for such a beautiful gift. The procedure went smooth but following the procedure she had some complications and were told that Gisella was rejecting the valve because she had contracted a the staph infection. Gisella was released from the hospital 90 days after care. For the first 4 years of her life, Gisella had many restrictions and spent much of her time visiting Doctors. We were told to limit her exposure to other people and keep things very clean because she had a low immune system. Our medical bills were never ending and between hospital stay and post care we reached over 2 million in charges. The insurance became a nightmare to deal with and between co-pays and therapies we did not know where to turn other than my retirement. Aside of the financial strain we were happy to have Gisella home and figured God would provide. My wife was laid off when Gisella was 3, her job only wanted her full time and we could not risk Gisella's health. Gisella is now 10 years old and she has taught me that miracles do exist. Other than getting easily fatigued and having a heart that sounds like a symphony she looks and acts like any normal child. As Gisella has grown her heart valve has not grown with her and so the time has come for Gisella to have open heart surgery once again. On September 12, 2016 we ask for prayers and support in whatever form that may be.
Be blessed!
Julio Pons
Organizer and beneficiary
Sariela Pons Bordner
Organizer
Bel Air, MD
Gerlly Pons
Beneficiary