Vece Family Medical Emergency Fund

Marty is my 44 year old husband who needs a heart.  He and his older brother Dominic both suffer from congenital cardiomyopathy.  Dominic had a heart transplant eight years ago.  My husband was diagnosed with this illness nine years ago.  Recently, his heart began to rapidly degenerate.  Because of this he needs a heart transplant as soon as possible.  There is no cure for this disease, and as the heart gets worse, blood and oxygen supply are not adequate to keep the organs healthy.  A normal persons' heart functions at 65%-75% capacity.  Marty's heart is functioning at 20%.  Because of this he has been short of breath and in and out of the hospital for various functional impairments.  We live in Las Vegas and this past October, he had to quit his job as a teacher and was admitted to UCLA Medical Center, a four and a half hour drive away, for heart transplant optimal testing.  There are no heart transplant centers in Las Vegas.  The doctors found that my husband's heart degenerated to the point where he immediately needed open heart surgery to place an LVAD into his chest.  The LVAD is a mechanical device that assists the heart with pumping the blood.  This device will keep him alive until a doner heart comes in for transplantation.  As a result, I also had to quit my job and by myself, immediately move our entire family to Los Angeles to be close to UCLA.  The organ transplant committee requires patients to live close to the hospital for at least six months post transplantation for follow ups and clinics.   We have three young children, Ava who is seven, Lucia who is six, and Rosalee who just turned one.  We spent the little bit of money we had saved up for babysitters, moving expenses, and transportation.  We currently have absolutely no income.  My husband's disabilty check will not even cover half of our rent.  We need funding for housing, food, medical bills, medications, and other basic living necessities.  My husband Marty was an entertainer prior to his teaching career.  His whole life he has made people laugh, smile, and just feel good.  He has been in many plays, toured with Kenny Rogers, and performed for six years in a Las Vegas headlining show.  As a teacher, he has worked for nine years in an At-Risk high school where he stayed after school three days a week helping hundreds of students over the years pass their writing proficiency exams and graduate.  My husband used to be the life of every social event.  Now he gets out of breath just getting out of bed and barely has the strengh to pick up his one year old baby.  We are praying for assistance - and we thank you from the bottom of our still beating heart(s)!