Help mend Alex's big heart!

Everyone knows that Alex Martell has a huge heart. She is one of the most caring, generous, loving persons any of us know.

What a lot of people don’t know is that Alex was born with a rare condition called Epsteins Anomoly. This means that her heart valves are in the wrong spot and the heart chambers aren’t formed correctly. The heart can’t pump effectively, which causes very fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and extreme fatigue. Alex was diagnosed in her 20s and the condition escalated during pregnancy. She has been managing it with medication until recently, but the condition has worsened in recent years and without surgery Alex will experience heart failure. You heard that right: it isn’t a question of “if,” her heart will fail - the doctors are saying it is a question of WHEN.

Surgery includes two components: first, a procedure to resolve the electrical short circuit caused by the malformed heart chambers (June 10), followed by open heart surgery to repair the valves (June 13). The condition is unusual and Alex’s case is complicated so she has been referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic is a world-class facility that specializes in cardiology and heart surgery – Alex will receive care from doctors with experience in this rare condition.

Please contribute!

Alex and Ebuka have to travel to Minnesota June 7 and will be there 3 weeks – it is open heart surgery!! Once they return to Vermont, Ebuka be out of work for another week or so while Alex gets settled. Alex will likely be out of work for 3 months.

While in Minnesota, Ebuka will need a hotel and all meals. Alex will also spend a portion of her recovery at the hotel until the doctors deem her safe to travel home.

The major surgery expenses are covered, but there will be many additional medical expenses both in Minnesota and in Vermont during her convalescence that are not covered, and they will need some tools and support her while she heals at home.

Our goal is to raise $50,000.

We all know how precious Alex’s heart is, and how she has shared her care and love with all of us.

Please join us in contributing to this GoFundMe to help keep her heart pumping.

We will also be providing meals for the family once they return from Minnesota. If you are able to participate in a meal train, please visit our MealTrain page to sign up.

Thank you!