On December 25th, Fausto woke up feeling like he was starting to catch a cold, some sniffles and low energy, nothing out of the ordinary. However, over the following week Fausto deteriorated extremely quickly, by January 3rd he was unable to sustain oxygen and he was rushed to St. Louise Hospital in Gilroy. He tested positive for COVID-19, and his oxygen levels were fatally low. He was transported by helicopter up to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto to receive additional medical treatment. Within 24 hours of arriving at Stanford Fausto was intubated and remained on a ventilator for several weeks. His lungs began to show signs of failure, and he was immediately placed on an ECMO Machine (artificial lung) and he remained on an ECMO for about 2 months. Ultimately his team at Stanford found that Fausto was nearing end-of-life and under consultation with his daughter and immediate family the decision was made to save his life with a bi-literal lung transplant. On March 4th, 2021 Fausto underwent a 12-hour surgery to receive a lung transplant. His surgery was an instant success, and he has remained at Stanford to heal and slowly get his strength back. He has had some good days and bad days through this journey, but his determination to survive and support from his biggest advocate, his daughter Michelle, have really helped him through this intense chapter of his life. Fausto is expected to return home to Gilroy by the end of summer as he continues his recovery at a rehab facility near Stanford for further observation.

As you can imagine the financial obligations that came with saving his life have created a hardship. We have opened this GoFundMe account to support Fausto as he gets back on his feet and back to his life. His daughter has moved back to Gilroy from out of state to be his primary caretaker and will be helping him every step of the way. These funds will be strictly used to support them in his further medical recovery. We completely understand if you cannot make a donation and no donation is too small. If a donation is not in your circumstances at this time, we completely understand, this pandemic has challenged us all in different ways; we ask that you please keep his story in mind.

We appreciate all the love and support we have received throughout the last few months. Our family is eternally grateful for all the medical staff and personnel who have been working every day and who ultimately helped us save Fausto’s life; their tireless efforts will never go unnoticed. A very special thank you to his Transplant Team at Stanford Hospital, they have been amazing and supportive throughout this entire journey.

The Fortino Family