A Mother’s Fight for Her Life and Her Family

My name is Ayumi Kim and I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Punahele for the past five years. What began as a work connection quickly turned into a deep friendship. She is now someone I consider family.

She was born with a broken heart, literally. Her first open heart surgery was at just one day old. Since then, her life has been a series of battles most of us can’t imagine. Multiple surgeries, pacemakers, and hospital stays, yet she’s never stopped fighting.

She’s a devoted wife and a loving mother to two beautiful children. She’s the kind of person who shows up for everyone else, even when her own heart is failing.

In 2012, she learned she had been unknowingly living in heart failure for over five years. Her last major surgery in 2018 brought hope. A new pacemaker, a stent, more oxygen, more life. For a while, things felt stable. Her energy returned and she was fully present for her kids. Life felt normal, even if it was never easy.

But everything changed July 2024. She suddenly began feeling winded again and brushed it off as exhaustion. By the time she made it to the ER, her heart was in A-Fib. Her oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low. Her heart was racing at 120 beats per minute while at rest. She was hospitalized and her heart was shocked back into rhythm. But the damage had already been done. Her heart’s pumping strength had dropped to just 15 to 20 percent.

The next few months brought more ER visits, more heart shocks and more uncertainty. An ablation procedure that was supposed to be her turning point was aborted mid surgery when her heart spiraled into dangerous arrhythmias. She was admitted to the ICU in cardiogenic shock. Each time, her platelets dropped so low she needed transfusions.

Doctors have told her she will likely need a heart transplant and possibly a liver transplant. But when she was evaluated at UW Medical last month, the team decided she was too high risk for the transplant list.

Today, her only hope lies in getting accepted by a transplant team at UCLA or Stanford. But that road is difficult. They have no family in California, no place to stay and no guaranteed coverage for travel, time off work or child care. The financial burden is heavy but the emotional weight is even heavier.

She’s terrified, not just for herself but for her husband, who feels helpless watching the woman he loves fade while juggling work and caregiving. She worries most about her children, especially her daughter who clings to her when she’s hospitalized.

Despite years of trying, her medical history has made it impossible to secure life insurance, which adds another layer of concern for her family’s future.

This is not a plea for pity. It is a call for compassion. If you’re able, your donation will help with

• Travel and lodging to reach transplant centers

• Out of pocket medical expenses and medications

• Support and stability for their children

And most importantly, please pray. They are holding onto faith. That one of the hospital will say yes. That another door will open. That this mother will get to see her children grow up.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

We believe prayers changes things and hope keeps it going. And your support can be the lifeline they need right now.