Acosta Strong

My dad was admitted to Kenmore Mercy this past Saturday 9/26/20 for heart failure.

With heart failure, the heart is not pumping as strong as it should so it is unable to pump the blood/fluids throughout the body the way it should. This can cause the fluid in the body to build up which is what had happened.

At Kenmore Mercy, they were trying to get rid of the extra fluid by giving him a medicine call a diuretic. He was undergoing further testing on his heart to see how weak it really is.

When he had his first Echocardiogram to evaluate the strength/weakness of his heart, the doctor did not like what they saw and trasnsferfed him immediately to South Buffalp Mercy cardiac cath lab so he could recieve an angiogram take a close look at his heart vessels. When he had this procedure things did not look good. He has many areas of blockage in his heart and his heart pumping ability is very weak. The doctors implanted a device called an Impella on 9/28 to help his blood be pumped better. After the procedure he was doing fairly well and was still his normal goofy/joker self.

Overnight on 9/28-29, he was rapidly declining. Kidney and liver functions were failing, and the implanted impella was not doing a good enough job. In the morning on 9/29, the doctors emergently took my dad back to implant a larger Impella device. However, when they got him to the operating room things were going too bad. So, my dad was placed on an ECMO machine (works as his heart and lungs) and also placed on a ventilator. This was done to let his body, and most importantly his heart, rest and hopefully regain some strength.

After all those procedures, he finally was settled in and got much needed rest. He was doing extremely well and all the machines were doing what they are supposed to be.

9/30 he has continued to  be stable and great day. His numbers are getting better and he is responding and opening his eyes while on the ventilator.

10/1 he was transferred to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester where he will undergo many many test to determine his eligibility for certain procedures/next steps. He still remains on ECMO and the ventilator. 

My dad is one never to ask for help, but to always offer it, to anyone. Family, friends, strangers, he is always more than willing to lend a helping hand and always bends over backwards for anyone in need. My dad is my hero, and he is a fighter.