Save Esmeralda's Heart

On December 20, 2007, my friend Esme was driving with her 10-month old son when she fainted. Lucklily, no one was hurt, and a good samaritan saved her life by giving her CPR while an ambulance arrived.  She woke up in the hospital 17 days later, and she was told that her heart had failed. She was given a pacemaker to control her heartbeat and was able to live a normal life with her husband and now 10-year old son. In December of 2017, Esme started having dizzy spells, so she went back to the doctor to see what was wrong. The doctor told her that her pacemaker battery was failing, and that it would have to be replaced within the next few months. The total cost of the surgery is $22,000 , and her insurance won't pay a dime. Luckily, a donor has helped her with the cost of the battery, and she was able to raise another $4,000 with her own money and help from friends and family. She is so close to being able to pay her surgery and her battery is only functioning at 85%, which leaves her without sufficicent oxygen. Her surgery is scheduled for February 22, but her battery could short any day now. 

The irony of Esme's failing heart is that she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I came to live in her town of 3,000 people in November of 2013 and I was lucky enough to meet her the first day I arrived. That day, we decided we would would get healthy by walking in the mountains around town every morning at 06:00, so she would have time to come home and get her son ready for school and run the only restaurant in town. We became close friends, sharing not only beautiful sunrise walks in central Mexico, but also life stories, fears, and dreams. She was my first and very best friend in my little Peace Corps town and she continues to inspire me every day- she is an amazing mother, wife, and the most entreprenurial person I have ever met. Please help me to help my friend.