Hi, my name is Janeli. In February 2020, my husband Jay (Juan), at just 25 years old, went from perfectly healthy to fighting for his life after a virus attacked his heart. He spent 10 days on life support, and while he survived, he was left with severe, end-stage heart failure.

Since then, he’s faced multiple ICU hospitalizations. Currently, he’s been in the hospital for three weeks, and doctors have scheduled him for open heart LVAD surgery on Monday 4/13/26 as a bridge to a possible future heart transplant. The surgery is high-risk, and recovery could take 4+ months.

This has been and will continue to be an incredibly stressful time for our family. We have two kids, a 15-year-old daughter and a 9-month-old baby boy. He’s an amazing dad who loves his family more than anything, and it’s heartbreaking that he’ll miss some of the earliest months of our son’s life.

Additionally, his income will be cut in half through short-term disability, and I will likely need to take 4-8+ weeks off work to care for him once he’s discharged, most of which will be unpaid. Though we have support from friends and family, it’s not enough to cover everything.

Past hospitalizations have made it nearly impossible to contribute to our savings, and we face the real risk of falling behind on bills.

We’re asking for your help to raise funds that will go toward:

• Supporting daily expenses and mortgage/bills during surgery and recovery

• Additional childcare costs

• Travel, parking, and meals during hospital stays

• Any out-of-pocket medical costs not covered by insurance

Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us focus on what matters most - getting him through this surgery and keeping our family together. Even sharing our story helps more than you know.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.