The Gamez Family (Marcos Heart Surgery)

In June, Marcos lost his job when the nonprofit he was working for closed its U.S. operations. Knowing that his benefits would soon run out, he scheduled an appointment with his doctor, wanting to treat what he thought was a pulled muscle, or at worst, a hernia, in his groin. After running some tests, the doctor said that the good news was that there was no hernia detected. The more concerning news however, was that Marcos had a heart murmur that needed more testing. Turns out Marcos was born with a heart defect that he never knew about until now.

Marcos has a bicuspid aortic valve with severe-critical stenosis. His aortic valve only has two cusps when there should be three. This means that his heart has had to work harder to pump blood to the rest of his body, and it has caused a hardening/calcification of his aortic valve. Doctors have advised him to get surgery as soon as possible, as sudden death is a possibility.

Most people with this condition don’t find out until they’ve already begun to experience heart failure. Because of his relatively young age, and otherwise good health, Marcos is a prime candidate for a specialized valve replacement technique called the “Ross Procedure.” While any open-heart surgery is major, this procedure is a longer, more complicated surgery, and a complete sternotomy (breaking open of the chest) is required.

Through a series of God-ordained events and connections, Marcos has been scheduled with the best Ross procedure surgeon in the nation. His surgery is set for Sept.14th at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

We have set up this GoFundMe campaign to rally around the Gamez family and help alleviate the financial stress that has accompanied these unforeseen events. Your generous donations will directly contribute to medical expenses, travel, accommodation costs, childcare, loss of wages, and many other expenses they have not yet accounted for.

Please keep our family in your prayers...Thanks in advance, Ruthie - Marcos's sister.

Ruthie is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Marcos Gamez