Assisting Will Bridges in his time of need

Hello, our names are Sunny and Web Bridges and we are asking for your help with our son William's expenses.

At about 1 a.m. on Monday the 14th of August Will was experiencing chest pains and a fluttering in his heart, he believed he was having a heart attack. I took him to the nearby iNova ER where, after eliminating several conditions, he was diagnosed with aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body's main artery.

An aortic dissection begins abruptly when a tear occurs in the inner layer of a weakened area of the aorta. Blood surges through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers to separate (“dissect”). As diverted blood flows between the tissue layers, the normal blood flow to parts of the body may be slowed or stopped, or the aorta may rupture completely. Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition that can cause sudden death if it is not recognized and quickly treated. It has been estimated as high as 40% of people who suffer from an aortic dissection die almost instantly, and the risk of death increases by 3-4 percent every hour the condition is left untreated.

Mayo Clinic - Aortic Dissection

Will's proved to be a Type A, the more common and dangerous type involving a tear in the part of the aorta where it exits the heart. The tear was located between the two left arteries of the aorta (on the right in the image).

Around 5 a.m., Will was immediately transported to iNova Fairfax Schar Heart and Vascular Institute, where he underwent immediate open-heart surgery. 7 hours later the surgery performed by Dr. Kathleen Petro successfully repaired the tear, which proved much larger than originally diagnosed at the ER. Dr. Petro saved Will's life and gave him a second chance, something Sunny and I shall be forever grateful for.

After surgery, Will was placed in the Cardiovascular ICU. Seeing him in the bed with nearly 20 tubes in him was heartbreaking, but Dr. Petro assured us the surgery went well and that Will would recover in time.

The next challenge was removing the breathing tube that kept his lungs working.

Because a patient is put into such a deep sleep during and after surgery the CV ICU team must gradually wake the patient and ensure they can understand and breathe on their own before removing the tube. The problem is a great many patients begin to wake up and, discovering their bizarre situation, panic and struggle uncontrollably. This not only hinders the CV ICU team but endangers the patient as well. So the first attempt Monday evening was terminated as Will did struggle and thrash about considerably.

Tuesday, with Sunny talking to him in Korean telling him Mom was here and me holding the hand that didn't have the dozens of tubes embedded in it, the CV ICU team slowly woke Will up and successfully removed the tube. Will did snuggle but soon recognized his Mom's voice and calmed enough for the tube's removal. During the removal, he kept hoarsely saying over and over in Korean "Mianhaeyo Omma," Sorry Mom.

On Saturday Will was moved to the CV Step Down Unit where he started taking solid food and walking about the ward. By the end of the day, he was breathing fine without the oxygen nose tube. He improved quickly enough to be discharged home Sunday evening.

So now comes the long road to recovery. We are asking for your help for two reasons.

One is because Will may be out of work for another 6 to 8 weeks, thus he will have no income for over 2 to 3 months to pay his various bills and life expenses. Unfortunately, his employer is a small business owner who does not offer short or long-term disability insurance.

Second, while his insurance will cover the majority of the expenses of surgery, hospital stay, rehab, and follow-up, he is faced with a considerable financial burden for the remainder, exasperated by his lack of income.

100% of your donation will go towards either expenses or medical payments.

If you can assist Will monetarily that would be greatly appreciated. Understanding the difficult financial situation today with high inflation we understand you may not be in a position to give money, and that totally is fine, we only ask you pass this on to your own network for greater exposure.

We thank you for your time and Will is ever grateful for your support.

Sunny & Web Bridges