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Sunday Racz suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to the ER, where they performed life-saving surgery. Shortly after, she was life-flighted to the Cleveland Clinic and is now on full life support. She is being continuously monitored and is undergoing treatments for various health complications surrounding her heart attack. While her condition is critical at the moment, there is still hope and we will continue to pray for her, as well as the medical team taking care of her. Please consider donating anything you can to help cover the medical expenses.
For more details, continue reading.
On Sunday January 10th, my mother Sunday Racz wasn’t feeling well and thought she may have had food poisoning. She was feeling better at one point and thought that was the end of feeling sick. She took a nap and when she woke up my dad called to tell me she was not acting herself and called 911. From there, the ambulance arrived at their house and did an EKG which showed that she was most likely having a heart attack and rushed her to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown. They took my mom to the cath lab as soon as they were all ready for her (thankfully we were able to see her just before she went back to the cath lab to show her we were there for her and try to calm her fears). During the heart cath, the cardiologist was able to place one stent and inserted a intra-aortic balloon pump. The cardiologist discussed with us that my mom was critically ill and in cardiogenic shock with a severely damaged heart muscle, had a blood sugar of 800 (she was not a previously diagnosed diabetic), and needed to be transferred to the Cleveland Clinic immediately. Thankfully there was an ICU bed available for her at the Cleveland Clinic and she was able to be life flighted. While still in the cath lab prior to being life flighted my dad, brother, my husband and myself were able to be with her and talk to her and calm her fears. We were even able to have my sister-in-law Sam talk to my mom over the phone while we were still there. For as sick as she is, it was a miracle that she was so alert and oriented and talking to us! This is just a testimony to how strong willed and the fighter that she is! After being life flighted to the Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiac ICU they began doing everything they could to save her life. She is currently sedated, hooked up to the ventilator, heart and lung machine, a intra aortic balloon pump, continuous dialysis, and numerous IV drips. She is currently responding to treatment well! She even followed commands while temporarily being weaned from sedation to check on her neurological status. She squeezed her nurse's hands and wiggled her toes when asked! This is amazing news! The Doctors are saying that judging on the damage they are seeing, she had her actual heart attack 7-10 days prior to presenting with her symptoms on Sunday. This again, is just another testimony to how strong she is, that she was going on with her daily life and was having a massive heart attack the entire time and didn’t even have any symptoms. (My mom has had stomach problems for years and did complain of some nausea throughout the week in the morning, took her Prilosec and TUMs and felt better, this was not uncommon for her). The Doctor’s went on to say that because she did not realize she was having a heart attack for all that time, that her heart muscle began to deteriorate and soften, which led to a hole forming in her heart. She currently is suffering from a Late presenting anterior STEMI complicated by a Ventricular Septal Rupture (VSR), Left Ventricular Thrombus, Left Ventricular Aneurysm, and Refractory Cardiogenic Shock. Despite all of this, her medical team has formed a plan! She is in the best hospital that she can be at in the country! We are truly so blessed to have such an amazing medical team on her case! Everyone involved in her care has been so awesome! Her biggest goals right now are to remain stable on all of the medical interventions that are in place right now, so that her heart and body can heal and strengthen as much as possible so that she is able to undergo and withstand surgery to repair the hole that formed in her heart, bypass the remaining clots that were unable to have stents placed in the cath lab, and remove another left ventricular clot inside an aneurysm that formed in her left ventricle, and then go from there on. We cannot thank you all enough for your continued prayers, positive thoughts, love, and support through this battle that my mother is facing! My mom is a fighter and a warrior! She is the toughest woman I know! If anyone can get through all of this, it’s her! We know she will! We just have to continue to pray, send positive thoughts, love, and support her through this! She’s got this!! We’ve got this!!❤️❤️
01/14/2021
Update: Mom is still stable as of now with the assistance of full life support including the ventilator, heart and lung machine (ECMO), intra-aortic balloon pump, continuous dialysis, and numerous IV medication drips. Mom is currently sedated through all of this. They have been temporarily weaning her sedation each day to make sure she is still following commands to check her neurological status. So far each time they have weaned her sedation she has been able to follow commands! This is fantastic news! She truly is a fighter! She is my hero! She received one unit of blood last night and has had no major changes over night. Each day they are continuing to assess if her heart muscle is strengthening and if see needs continued support on all devices and to see if she will be able to undergo and withstand the life-saving surgery that she needs to receive. The medical/surgical team is discussing based on the situation she won't be getting surgery until at least next week pending her heart and body's condition. She is also being evaluated by her medical/surgical team if she will need an LVAD(Left Ventricular Assistive Device). "A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a mechanical pump that is implanted in patients with heart failure. It helps the bottom left chamber of your heart (left ventricle) pump blood out of the ventricle to the aorta and the rest of your body. That is why it is called a Left Ventricular Assist Device."- via Cleveland Clinic. We are staying positive and optimistic because my mom is incredibly strong; she is at the best possible place she can be at in the world right now at the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac ICU; has the most amazing medical/surgical team on her case; the greatest nurses and caregivers providing her world class care; is incredibly loved by so many family and friends; there are hundreds of people currently praying for her to heal and recover through this battle and who are also sending her positive thoughts, love, and support! If anyone can win this fight, it's my mom. She is a true warrior! she always told me "success is on the other side of fear" when I was studying for my nursing degree. I know this statement to be true. Do not let fear cloud judgment or thought, for it is an illusion. My mom will succeed though all of this and hold her grand babies again one day. She is an incredible person inside and out. I love you mom, we all do! You are going to get through this. We are going to get through this together every step of the way!
For more information on LVAD (left ventricular assistive device) follow link below:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17192-left-ventricular-assist-devices-mechanical-circulatory-support-mcs
01/15/2021
Update: Mom is still stable on total life support! This is fantastic news that she continues to remain stable! She also had another unit of blood overnight, making it the 3rd unit of blood she has received. If there is a will, there is a way! My mom is the strongest, most stubborn woman I know! I know she will continue to fight until she is holding her grand babies once again! She also had her faith healing service with Dr. Nemeh this morning and it went very well! Dr. Nemeh said that she has a VERY STRONG SPIRITUAL CONNECTION. I know this to be true, for my mom is incredibly strong and resilient! We believe in the power of healing through faith and prayer! Dr. Nemeh also added that the prayers and positive thoughts that my mom is receiving is also helping to strengthen her very strong spiritual connection! In addition to this, my father spoke with Dr. Unai (the cardiothoracic surgeon on my mom's team) today. Dr. Unai discussed that my mom remains a possible candidate for the LVAD at this time. He discussed that they are weighing all options for my mother and is also hoping that her kidney and liver function improve over the weekend, so that she has a better chance to be able to undergo and withstand the open heart surgery that she will need to receive. My mother is still on continuous dialysis at this time; however, her liver function numbers are half of what they were yesterday!!!! This is excellent news!!!! We are headed in the right direction!!! I also want to thank the mystery nurse who popped into my mother's room today and told my father that, yes my mother is very sick, but they taken care of patient's just as sick her and they have able to heal and recover! We are so thankful and blessed that my mother has such a excellent and caring medical/surgical/care team! Thank you all soooooo very much for your continued prayers, love, positive thoughts, and support! It is working! My family and I are eternally grateful to all of you! Between my mother's fighting spirit; amazing medical/surgical/care team; being at the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac ICU; and all of the continued prayers, positive thoughts, love, and support, my mom is without a doubt going to win this battle! You got this mom, we've got this! We love you so much! The power of prayer is real!
01/16/2021
Update: Way to go mom! We are so proud of you that you are still stable and showing improvement! You are my hero! Mom remains on the ventilator, intra-aortic balloon bump, heart and lung machine (ECMO), continuous dialysis, and numerous IV medication drips; received two units of blood overnight; is on a little less medication support than she was on before (this is a win!); her kidney lab work is looking really good(granted she still remains on continuous dialysis); and her liver function is showing miracle like improvements. I was made aware of what her liver numbers were two days ago and what they are today. It truly is a miracle how much they have improved! We are moving in the correct direction! As of now, Dr. Unai (my mom's cardiothoracic surgeon) is hoping to operate this coming week! This is amazing! Mom just has to continue to stay stable and show improvement! We are hoping that her heart muscle is healing and strengthening enough to undergo and withstand the open heart surgery that she needs, as well as continue to show improvement in her kidney and liver function. Mom, you truly are a fighter and the strongest woman I know! I know you are going to persevere and recover! So many people love you, are praying for you, sending you positive thoughts, and are supporting you! You are at the best possible place you could be at in the world right now! We are here with you every step of the way! We are going to get through this together! Thank you everyone for your continued prayers, love, positive thoughts, and support! It is working!!! We are sooooo, sooooo very grateful!!! The power of prayer is real!!!
For more details, continue reading.
On Sunday January 10th, my mother Sunday Racz wasn’t feeling well and thought she may have had food poisoning. She was feeling better at one point and thought that was the end of feeling sick. She took a nap and when she woke up my dad called to tell me she was not acting herself and called 911. From there, the ambulance arrived at their house and did an EKG which showed that she was most likely having a heart attack and rushed her to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown. They took my mom to the cath lab as soon as they were all ready for her (thankfully we were able to see her just before she went back to the cath lab to show her we were there for her and try to calm her fears). During the heart cath, the cardiologist was able to place one stent and inserted a intra-aortic balloon pump. The cardiologist discussed with us that my mom was critically ill and in cardiogenic shock with a severely damaged heart muscle, had a blood sugar of 800 (she was not a previously diagnosed diabetic), and needed to be transferred to the Cleveland Clinic immediately. Thankfully there was an ICU bed available for her at the Cleveland Clinic and she was able to be life flighted. While still in the cath lab prior to being life flighted my dad, brother, my husband and myself were able to be with her and talk to her and calm her fears. We were even able to have my sister-in-law Sam talk to my mom over the phone while we were still there. For as sick as she is, it was a miracle that she was so alert and oriented and talking to us! This is just a testimony to how strong willed and the fighter that she is! After being life flighted to the Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiac ICU they began doing everything they could to save her life. She is currently sedated, hooked up to the ventilator, heart and lung machine, a intra aortic balloon pump, continuous dialysis, and numerous IV drips. She is currently responding to treatment well! She even followed commands while temporarily being weaned from sedation to check on her neurological status. She squeezed her nurse's hands and wiggled her toes when asked! This is amazing news! The Doctors are saying that judging on the damage they are seeing, she had her actual heart attack 7-10 days prior to presenting with her symptoms on Sunday. This again, is just another testimony to how strong she is, that she was going on with her daily life and was having a massive heart attack the entire time and didn’t even have any symptoms. (My mom has had stomach problems for years and did complain of some nausea throughout the week in the morning, took her Prilosec and TUMs and felt better, this was not uncommon for her). The Doctor’s went on to say that because she did not realize she was having a heart attack for all that time, that her heart muscle began to deteriorate and soften, which led to a hole forming in her heart. She currently is suffering from a Late presenting anterior STEMI complicated by a Ventricular Septal Rupture (VSR), Left Ventricular Thrombus, Left Ventricular Aneurysm, and Refractory Cardiogenic Shock. Despite all of this, her medical team has formed a plan! She is in the best hospital that she can be at in the country! We are truly so blessed to have such an amazing medical team on her case! Everyone involved in her care has been so awesome! Her biggest goals right now are to remain stable on all of the medical interventions that are in place right now, so that her heart and body can heal and strengthen as much as possible so that she is able to undergo and withstand surgery to repair the hole that formed in her heart, bypass the remaining clots that were unable to have stents placed in the cath lab, and remove another left ventricular clot inside an aneurysm that formed in her left ventricle, and then go from there on. We cannot thank you all enough for your continued prayers, positive thoughts, love, and support through this battle that my mother is facing! My mom is a fighter and a warrior! She is the toughest woman I know! If anyone can get through all of this, it’s her! We know she will! We just have to continue to pray, send positive thoughts, love, and support her through this! She’s got this!! We’ve got this!!❤️❤️
01/14/2021
Update: Mom is still stable as of now with the assistance of full life support including the ventilator, heart and lung machine (ECMO), intra-aortic balloon pump, continuous dialysis, and numerous IV medication drips. Mom is currently sedated through all of this. They have been temporarily weaning her sedation each day to make sure she is still following commands to check her neurological status. So far each time they have weaned her sedation she has been able to follow commands! This is fantastic news! She truly is a fighter! She is my hero! She received one unit of blood last night and has had no major changes over night. Each day they are continuing to assess if her heart muscle is strengthening and if see needs continued support on all devices and to see if she will be able to undergo and withstand the life-saving surgery that she needs to receive. The medical/surgical team is discussing based on the situation she won't be getting surgery until at least next week pending her heart and body's condition. She is also being evaluated by her medical/surgical team if she will need an LVAD(Left Ventricular Assistive Device). "A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a mechanical pump that is implanted in patients with heart failure. It helps the bottom left chamber of your heart (left ventricle) pump blood out of the ventricle to the aorta and the rest of your body. That is why it is called a Left Ventricular Assist Device."- via Cleveland Clinic. We are staying positive and optimistic because my mom is incredibly strong; she is at the best possible place she can be at in the world right now at the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac ICU; has the most amazing medical/surgical team on her case; the greatest nurses and caregivers providing her world class care; is incredibly loved by so many family and friends; there are hundreds of people currently praying for her to heal and recover through this battle and who are also sending her positive thoughts, love, and support! If anyone can win this fight, it's my mom. She is a true warrior! she always told me "success is on the other side of fear" when I was studying for my nursing degree. I know this statement to be true. Do not let fear cloud judgment or thought, for it is an illusion. My mom will succeed though all of this and hold her grand babies again one day. She is an incredible person inside and out. I love you mom, we all do! You are going to get through this. We are going to get through this together every step of the way!
For more information on LVAD (left ventricular assistive device) follow link below:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17192-left-ventricular-assist-devices-mechanical-circulatory-support-mcs
01/15/2021
Update: Mom is still stable on total life support! This is fantastic news that she continues to remain stable! She also had another unit of blood overnight, making it the 3rd unit of blood she has received. If there is a will, there is a way! My mom is the strongest, most stubborn woman I know! I know she will continue to fight until she is holding her grand babies once again! She also had her faith healing service with Dr. Nemeh this morning and it went very well! Dr. Nemeh said that she has a VERY STRONG SPIRITUAL CONNECTION. I know this to be true, for my mom is incredibly strong and resilient! We believe in the power of healing through faith and prayer! Dr. Nemeh also added that the prayers and positive thoughts that my mom is receiving is also helping to strengthen her very strong spiritual connection! In addition to this, my father spoke with Dr. Unai (the cardiothoracic surgeon on my mom's team) today. Dr. Unai discussed that my mom remains a possible candidate for the LVAD at this time. He discussed that they are weighing all options for my mother and is also hoping that her kidney and liver function improve over the weekend, so that she has a better chance to be able to undergo and withstand the open heart surgery that she will need to receive. My mother is still on continuous dialysis at this time; however, her liver function numbers are half of what they were yesterday!!!! This is excellent news!!!! We are headed in the right direction!!! I also want to thank the mystery nurse who popped into my mother's room today and told my father that, yes my mother is very sick, but they taken care of patient's just as sick her and they have able to heal and recover! We are so thankful and blessed that my mother has such a excellent and caring medical/surgical/care team! Thank you all soooooo very much for your continued prayers, love, positive thoughts, and support! It is working! My family and I are eternally grateful to all of you! Between my mother's fighting spirit; amazing medical/surgical/care team; being at the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac ICU; and all of the continued prayers, positive thoughts, love, and support, my mom is without a doubt going to win this battle! You got this mom, we've got this! We love you so much! The power of prayer is real!
01/16/2021
Update: Way to go mom! We are so proud of you that you are still stable and showing improvement! You are my hero! Mom remains on the ventilator, intra-aortic balloon bump, heart and lung machine (ECMO), continuous dialysis, and numerous IV medication drips; received two units of blood overnight; is on a little less medication support than she was on before (this is a win!); her kidney lab work is looking really good(granted she still remains on continuous dialysis); and her liver function is showing miracle like improvements. I was made aware of what her liver numbers were two days ago and what they are today. It truly is a miracle how much they have improved! We are moving in the correct direction! As of now, Dr. Unai (my mom's cardiothoracic surgeon) is hoping to operate this coming week! This is amazing! Mom just has to continue to stay stable and show improvement! We are hoping that her heart muscle is healing and strengthening enough to undergo and withstand the open heart surgery that she needs, as well as continue to show improvement in her kidney and liver function. Mom, you truly are a fighter and the strongest woman I know! I know you are going to persevere and recover! So many people love you, are praying for you, sending you positive thoughts, and are supporting you! You are at the best possible place you could be at in the world right now! We are here with you every step of the way! We are going to get through this together! Thank you everyone for your continued prayers, love, positive thoughts, and support! It is working!!! We are sooooo, sooooo very grateful!!! The power of prayer is real!!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Steven Racz
Beneficiary