Elise is my sweet and beautiful little sister. She is in her late 20s, raising two young sons with her wonderful husband. Elise's journey with heart dysrhythmia began when she was a teenager. Her heart would race at 150-200 beats per minute, causing regular chest pain and shortness of breath. Sadly, because she was so young, her symptoms were not taken seriously by doctors for years. It wasn’t until 2022 that Elise was finally diagnosed and underwent a heart ablation surgery in Utah.

Unfortunately, the first surgery caused her heart rate to slow down too much—dropping to just 20-30 beats per minute. Elise continued to suffer with chest pain and shortness of breath, and she was unable to keep working. In December 2024, she had a second heart surgery to receive a pacemaker. Since then, Elise has been able to function much better and focus on raising her boys. Shortly after her pacemaker surgery, her family moved to California to support her husband’s career.

Even with health insurance, Elise now faces thousands of dollars in medical debt that has gone to collections. She’s begun to avoid checkups with her cardiologist because of the growing financial burden. I am setting up this fundraiser to help Elise pay off her medical debt and support her regular cardiologist appointments, so she can stay healthy and continue caring for her family.