In Loving Memory of Mirosław Górski

After an arduous four-month-long hospitalization for end-stage heart failure, my father Mirosław Górski died peacefully on the morning of Saturday, May 20th, 2023.

My mother and I were present at the hospital every single day throughout his treatment and later on, would take turns spending nights at the hospital as well. All of our time and emotional expenditure was dedicated to my father's care and simply being there for him. I did not work throughout my father's hospitalization and instead chose to be fully present for my parents during this stressful and difficult moment. After my father's passing, we are now focused on tackling the additional burden associated with the cost of cremation, memorial services, and various other medical expenses, as he did not have life insurance. I have set up this GoFundMe page on behalf of my mother, Irena Gorski. If you are able to make a donation, no matter how small, we would be eternally grateful. A direct donation can also be made to my mother's venmo @irengo

My father's hospitalization began on January 14th, after his ICD defibrillator administered a powerful electrical shock to his heart, resulting in a fall and subsequent loss of consciousness. He was immediately admitted to a local hospital where, over the next twenty-four hours, four more shocks were administered from the device indicating serious heart arrhythmias and his condition steadily began to decline. Noting the potential severity of his condition, he was airlifted to a different hospital at the Texas Medical Center in Houston with better facilities and medical personnel in place to cater to the critical state of his heart.

It was discovered that the heart arrhythmias my father was experiencing are known as Ventricular Tachycardia/Ventricular Fibrillation (VT/VFib), a life-threatening issue where the lower chamber of the heart beats too fast to pump well and the body doesn't receive enough oxygenated blood. These VT/VFib episodes were responsible for setting off the defibrillator causing the device to shock his heart to have it start working normally. However, even after admission to the ICU alongside several medical interventions including intubation on a ventilator, cleaning and insertion of new heart stents, surgical insertion of an Impella 5.5 heart pump, intravenously administered anti-arrhythmic heart medications and CRRT continuous dialysis, his condition did not improve and only further deteriorated. The life-threatening VT episodes were still occurring, though now more frequently and evolving into VT storms.

As a last-ditch effort to save his life, the cardiology team overseeing his care made the decision to place him on a Veno-Arterial Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VA-ECMO) Machine. By this time, he was now on full life support and would remain so for an additional nine days. After he was taken off of the ECMO machine and ventilator, he continued to remain on the Impella heart pump and dialysis until early March.

The weeks and months which followed were riddled with complications and indelible pain. His heart was weak and couldn't work on its own without mechanical support. Bouts of lower lumbar arterial and venous internal bleeding impeded progress. While on ECMO, it is suspected not enough blood reached his spinal cord, resulting in irreversible damage which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Losing the ability to walk left him largely bedridden, causing him over time to develop a stage 4 pressure wound on his sacrum (lower back). Even with extensive treatment with anti-arrhythmic medications and several ablations to his heart and ganglion nerves aimed at suppressing faulty electrical signals which play a role in sending someone into episodes of VT/VFib, the dangerous arrhythmias would still persist. After many months of fighting to get better, he experienced his last episode of sustained VT/VFib Saturday morning, May 20th.

Thank you for your support during this difficult time.