Heart For Our Sweets #tessasheartclub

The past 3 months have been filled with several emergency hospital admissions in Orlando and Tampa where Tessa was eventually told she needed heart surgery. On January 27th she was transferred to Houston Methodist Hospital in her home state of Texas. At the hospital in Houston, a team of 6 surgeons determined that the aortic and mitral valves would need to be replaced. This week on Monday, March 27th, Tessa underwent heart surgery for 12 hours. She will continue to be heavily sedated for several more days in the ICU while the doctors increase her blood pressure and monitor fluid in her lungs and abdomen, some of which is symptomatic of her new heart valves. At this point, we are unsure of how long she will be in the hospital at Houston Methodist. Although we are optimistic that she can return to work as a Flight Attendant, once discharged she will need extensive cardio therapy and rest at home. All of her closest friends are organizing their resources to alleviate Tessa's growing medical expenses and loss of income. Along with the “Friends of Tessa’s HEART CLUB,” we are asking you to support and contribute to her Go Fund Me. With your generosity, positive energy, and love Tessa will be able to go home to her "oversized pup" Jax, and make a full recovery. For those of you who do not know Tessa, we wanted to share this part of her story as well... Although Tessa is always a bright light in all our lives with her huge smiles and beautiful green eyes, many of you reading about her condition for the first time don't know Tessa has experienced previous monumental hurdles. She had scoliosis in her youth and during that time the doctors diagnosed Tessa with a rare condition called Marfan Syndrome. This affects fewer than 200,000 in the US each year, and it leads to heart problems. At a young age, Tessa’s father Jud suffered a traumatic brain injury and passed away several years later. Tessa and her mother became extremely close during this time and each other's best friends. Sadly, her mother Marguerite was tragically killed in a car accident in 2015. Now, following her heart surgery with the support of her two brothers and sister, and incredible friends we know Tessa will remain strong during this difficult time. “We love you Tessa, and can't wait for you to get healthy so you can continue to enjoy your travel adventures in the sky or rolling along in your RV in your free time with Jax by your side.”  Continue to check in for daily/weekly updates on Tessa's progress and PLEASE SHARE her GO FUND ME. Tessa will also love to see your messages and we're sure she will hope that they might inspire others facing life challenges. Hashtag all of your posts with #tessasheartclub. Feel free to add pictures of you and Tessa or anything that reminds you of her with the hashtag.  Thank you for your continued support for Tessa’s health and recovery. ANY amount of money that you can contribute is greatly appreciated. #tessasheartclub MANY thanks from Ellen Forse the organizer of Tessa Caruthers Go Fund Me and #tessasheartclub, and for the enormous support of Bethany, Jax, Jenny, Quinn, Abe, Chris, Alé, Mario, Brendan, Chuck, Vanida and Rose.