On the first day, Monday, 03/29/21, of our reunion visit with older sister Giovanna in Long Beach, WA, Mauricio Perez was having difficulty breathing. After a sleepless night we decided to take him to a Kaiser hospital for an in-person examination.

After reviewing his chest X-rays, the ER doctors and medical team at Kaiser Westside Medical Center noticed an unsettling abnormality. He was immediately transferred to the Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center  Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.

Under the care of Dr. Yong Shin and his team, Mauricio had emergency open heart surgery on Tuesday, 03/30/21, in Clackamas, OR. They replaced two valves(mitral and aortic) and repaired other sections of his heart.

He will be in recovery for a few weeks in OR before going home to CA. We are in the process of setting up a temporary residence in OR for at least 4-6 weeks while he recovers and goes through therapy. 

We are thankful for all the support from family, friends, work-family, doctors, nurses, and medical staff. Mauricio is alive and getting better every day because of each of you.

Mauricio’s heart journey has just begun, but if you’ve ever met him you know, a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. This is where the fun begins.