Hi. My name is Melissa and I'm the creator of this GoFundMe. It has been created to help with medical and living costs for the family of Sonny Sundaramurthy. Below, please read what his mom has written about him.

My name is Judy.

I am Sonny’s mom.

Sonny, my only son, is a veteran who has served faithfully in the US Navy. He and his family live in Virginia.

During a family wedding in September 2023, he was infected with the Covid virus, which led to myocarditis (a rare complication of the Covid virus) that attacked and severely damaged his heart.

Sonny has severe congestive heart failure now and will need a heart transplant soon. He is planning to travel to Duke in North Carolina for medical tests to be admitted as a patient in Duke’s Heart Transplant program.

During the time of Sonny’s declining health, he continued working full-time at the Pentagon to support his family, his wife, and six children.

In March 2024, he had surgery to implant an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator) device to prevent sudden cardiac death during the now frequent episodes of ventricular tachycardia (V-tach) he’s been experiencing.

On Mother’s Day, Sonny was taken by ambulance to a Virginia hospital when his heart, unable to pace itself, was automatically shocked by his ICD device to restore his heart to a life-saving rhythm.

This past Monday, Sonny had cardiac ablation surgery to destroy the abnormal heart cells that had been causing the potentially fatal ventricular tachycardia. The surgery was high-risk due to the location of the abnormal cardiac cells. At first, the surgery appeared successful, but Sonny soon afterward began experiencing unusual visual symptoms. Nevertheless, he was discharged to home on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, the frequency and severity of the visual symptoms had increased and were narrowing his field of vision. Our family doctor and his neurologist told him he needed to get to the emergency room as soon as possible to have an MRI.

After waiting for more than 3 hours in the waiting room, a physician examined him and told him that he suspects that Sonny is having TIA episodes (also known as “mini-strokes”) due to temporary blockage of blood flow to his brain. TIAs increase the likelihood of major stroke, permanent brain damage, and also potential blindness if not diagnosed by an MRI and resolved quickly.

Although Sonny served his country honorably for almost 30 years, full-time and in the Reserves, he is ineligible for VA healthcare since his salary exceeds the VA income threshold. He recently retired from the Navy but will not be able to receive a military pension until he’s 65.

Unless Sonny’s health improves, he may not be able to work full-time at the Pentagon. His unpaid medical bills continue to increase. In addition, due to Sonny being a government worker, who is sick, there is no guarantee that he will have a job to go back to because of lay-offs.

Please keep Sonny and his family in your prayers.

Any financial assistance you can contribute to Sonny and his family will be sincerely appreciated. Please share.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Melissa and Judy

❤️