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Hello my name is Ofilia and this is my husband Tony Gutierrez. He is currently at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ICU in Los Angeles California Recovering from a Life saving LIVER TRANSPLANT. Due to the unimaginable financial strain we are under I cant be there with him! He shouldnt have to go through this alone!
Tony was diagnosed with End Stage Liver Disease early last year. On Nov. 22 2021, only days before Thanksgiving Tony was placed on life support and Doctors told me there was nothing more they could do. He required a higher level of care then what they could provide, and that due to COVID-19 there was no possibility for an inpatient ICU transfer to any of California's hospitals. I promised Tony I would never give up, that I would do whatever I had to do to get him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a liver transplant! After 26 hours and calling every hour I was finally able to get him accepted for a Transplant Evaluation. On December 5, 2021 Tony was transported from Delano to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. I was told that the transplant team would evaluate him and decide if he was eligible for a transplant.
On December 14th, I received a letter in the Cedars-Sinai app that stated Tony was not going to be listed to UNOS and that he did not meet the requirements to be able to have a liver transplant. When the doctor called I told him not to give up. I asked him if there was anything they could do to help him but they said his heart wasn't strong enough to survive surgery! They told me that they were going to come up with a plan to help save Tony. A few days later I received a call from Dr. Nakamura, he said that Tony had a 90% blockage leading to his heart. He said Tony was not strong enough to survive open heart surgery so he was going to attempt a non-invasive procedure to place the stent. He told me that this was their Hail Mary, that it was very dangerous but it was Tony's only option! He explained to me all of the risks and told me he didn't know if Tony would make it off the table but he was going to do his very best! Tony made it through with no problems! Now Tony needed to be on blood thinners for 30 days before he could be listed for a liver transplant! The odds of him surviving were low because he was already a high risk for bleeding. Tony had several complications and many close calls but he's a fighter! Every other day the nurses in the ICU allowed me to FaceTime with him even though he was intubated and sedated. The nurses told me they weren't sure if he could hear me, I knew he could and I wanted him to know that though the covid-19 restrictions didn't allow me to be there with him he was not alone and that the kids Brianna, Benny, Brandon, Caro and I would be there with him as soon as we could! After 30 long days Tony was listed to UNOS and he was at the top of the list! On February 1st 2022 shortly after midnight, I received a call that they found a match and Tony was going to surgery for a liver transplant! The kids and I were so excited we had waited for this day for so long! We sat at the table and we said a prayer for the donor and their family, we are forever thankful to them! I wanted to be there with Tony so bad, the worry and the heartache was unbearable! Tony made it through the 11-hour transplant surgery without any complications! The Cedars-Sinai transplant team are amazing they are true heroes! I wish I could say a liver was all he needed but unfortunately that is not the case. He is still on dialysis and struggling with acute respiratory failure, because of that he had been on a ventilator. Last week the transplant team told us that Tony would need to have a tracheotomy.
To date Tony is being treated for many health issues a few of them are:
- CIRRHOSIS
- CARDIAC ARREST
- ACUTE DIASTOLIC HEART FAILURE
- SEPTIC SHOCK
- ACUTE RESPIRATORY FAILURE W/ HYPERCAPNIA
- CARDIOMYOPOTHY
- COAGULOPOTHY
- DIC
- GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE
- HYDROTHORAX NSTEMI MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
- CRRT FOR ACUTE RENAL FAILURE
- MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS
- PERICARDIAL EFFUSION
- ESOPHAGEAL VARICIES W/ BLEEDING
- PNEUMONIA DUE TO INFECTIOUS ORGANISMS
- PORTAL HYPERTENSION
- ENCEPHALOPATHY
- LIVER TRANSPLANT
Tony is fighting so hard and has beaten all the odds that were stacked High against him. The doctors are hoping he will be out of the ICU soon! He has a long road ahead of him but we hope he will be home soon! The transplant team needs me to be there several times a week, and the hospital is 3 hours away from our home! The mortgage utilities and Tony's medical bills have put us over $30,000 in debt! Our world has been turned upside down and we are doing our best to get through it each and every single day! We are asking for your help please. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!