Help The Robot Fix Tim's Heart

After a season of skin cancer treatment, eye and face ptosis repair surgery and an attack of the shingles, Tim was diagnosed in the middle of April with heart mitral valve prolapse and severe mitral valve regurgitation-where the blood from one chamber backs up into another, swelling the left ventricle and damaging the heart and lungs.  A myriad of tests including three echocardiograms, two EKG’s, a stress test, 24 hour heart monitoring test and a chest X-Ray have confirmed that the only way to fix the problem and give Tim a chance to live beyond two years is to surgically repair the mitral valve as soon as possible.  After discussing the best possible surgical options to repair the mitral valve with four of Taiwan’s top cardiac surgeons, Dr. Chih head of cardiac surgery at National Taiwan University Hospital has recommended that, barring any immediate concerns that might emerge in the pre-operation full-body CT scan, the best option would be to repair Tim’s mitral valve using the Da Vinci robotically assisted minimally invasive surgical technique.   As each patient has to individually purchase all of the replaceable and disposable parts used by the four robotic arms during the surgery, the out-of-pocket cost for the surgery, additional ICU and hospital room charges and the two months of physical rehab total is estimated at 20,600.00 USD.  A pre-surgery deposit of 12,000.00 USD covering the disposable robotic equipment costs will need to be made either in the last week of May or the first available surgical date in June.  Timing of the surgery is crucial.  Over the five weeks since the condition was discovered in the first echocardiogram, Tim’s heart function has deteriorated to the point where even walking down the street is at times extremely difficult.  Would you join with Tim’s Facebook friends, supporters with C.M.I. and Asia Mission Partners and friends from around the world to help provide the funds to make this robotic surgical repair possible?  If the pre-operation CT scan indicates additional problems that would prohibit the use of the Da Vinci robot, then conventional mitral valve repair surgery-which in many instances involves breaking bones in the sternum-would cause Tim to have more days in the ICU and hospital and 2-3 months longer recovery.  The estimated end cost for either of those surgery and recovery periods is approximately the same. Although the success rate for mitral valve conventional repair in Taiwan is 95% and the success rate for the Da Vinci robotically assisted surgical repair is 99%, any time you stop the heart and have to restart it there is risk involved.  Tim’s life is in the Lord’s hands and ultimately our Lord is the great and final healer.  Please keep Tim in your prayers, as well as Evie and Allison who are preparing to move from Florida back to Taiwan on May 29th.  God bless you and thanks for your help!