Support Noel's Fight Against Heart Failure (Michele's son)

Help Noel Fight Against Heart Failure

In September, Michele Hanapi's son, Noel had minor flu-like symptoms like a cold, saw a couple of doctors, and didn't think any more about it until his asthma began to trigger and symptoms worsened. When he went to Urgent Care on 10/3/24, he never imagined being immediately admitted to the hospital. Testing revealed that Noel had contracted Rhinovirus, the most common cause of the common cold, a virus that spreads through the air and causes upper respiratory tract infections, which landed him in the Intensive Care Unit.

After one week of treatment with no improvement, further testing found that his left ventricle was not pumping blood through his heart. He was referred to Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles as a possible candidate for an LVAD (Left Ventricle Assist Device), which pumps blood passing through the heart to the rest of his body and organs. Noel was medevacked by Air Ambulance from Hawaii to California on 10/15/24. After much testing and screenings, our prayers were answered when he was approved for the procedure. On 10/30/24, Noel had open-heart surgery where the pump was implanted into his body near his heart. As his mom, Michele, said after his surgery, "He is in recovery and awake, thank God." The pump takes the place of his left heart ventricle, with a catheter that exits his body near his stomach and has two 1 lb batteries, which only last 16 hours and need to be changed daily. This is a temporary solution until he can be on the heart transplant list.

Recovery from this procedure requires weeks in the ICU and then Medical Telemetry before being discharged to an outpatient facility in California near the hospital for recovery, checkups, and PT for an additional THREE MONTHS. Family members are flying up to rotate as caretakers for Noel during his recovery. Michele has been by his side every day since October 3, even while she herself recently broke her arm and is awaiting surgery back in Hawaii this month.

This unexpected journey has turned their lives upside down, and they appreciate any support for housing, airfare, and medical bills during this difficult time. We can only imagine Noel's and his family's struggle both physically, mentally, and financially.

Anything helps to make things a little easier and take some of the stress off the family.