Jeff D’Ambra & his family

Hi, I am Jeff’s little sister, Kim. Many of you know our family well, and I wanted to give a recap of events that have occurred these past few days that have thrown our family thru a loop - especially Jeff, Alissa, and their 3 kids.

Jeff went to the ER Monday morning with severe chest pains/sweating/shortness of breath. They quickly realized he had a tear in his aorta (aortic dissection). Right away they had him life flighted to the closest level 1 trama center where they were already prepped to begin emergency open heart surgery. After nearly 7 hours they replaced 2 inches of his aorta and repaired a valve. The decision was made to keep Jeff sedated for the next 32 hours to avoid too much stress on his brain and reduce the risk of a stroke or brain damage. Jeff did great waking up, and though he hardly has the energy to speak he still manages to be the biggest charmer in the ICU.

He will remain in the hospital for about a week before heading home to begin his recovery. As a UPS driver he will be out of work for quite some time, and his wife Alissa will also need the time off to care for Jeff, along with the regular daily duties of raising 3 children. We hope to help relieve some of their financial burden over the next few months so they can keep up with everyday bills and expenses.

If you know Jeff, you love Jeff. Absolutely no contribution, no matter how small, will go unappreciated.