Support Vanessa After Heart Transplant

~*~*~* YOU CAN ALSO DONATE DIRECTLY VIA VENMO @Vanessa-Malkia*~*~*

Dear friend,

 

My name is VyVy Trinh, and I am working with the beautiful and brilliant Vanessa Malkia to raise funds to support her as she recovers from a life-altering medical crisis.

 

Vanessa and her family moved to United States in 2014 as refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They settled in Providence, RI and immediately took on the work they have been doing their entire lives of supporting and uplifting community, especially refugee women. Vanessa is one of the most passionate and relentless advocates I know, dedicating every aspect of her life to helping others. For two years she worked as a camp counselor at Camp RYSE, serving refugee families. She graduated from Roger Williams University with a BA in Public Health and has been deeply involved in several research projects aimed at improving community health in Providence. She is also a devoted eldest sibling and daughter of two pillars of the community, Aline and Clement, co-founders of Womens Refugee Care 

 

Vanessa started to feel unwell in the winter of 2021. She sought medical care in November and was found to be in severe heart failure.  The underlying cause of her heart failure remains unknown but could be familial or related to an under-treated childhood infection; further studies are being done to understand the root cause. Vanessa's condition quickly deteriorated, and she was soon hospitalized at Rhode Island Hospital, then Tufts Medical Center, and placed on around-the-clock IV medications that kept her heart pumping, followed by several weeks on ECMO and BiVAD, two forms of a temporary, artificial heart. It quickly became clear that the only lasting solution to save Vanessa's life would be a heart transplant. At last, after several traumatizing and uncertain weeks in the hospital, Vanessa received a new heart on March 23, 2022.

 

Though most of Vanessa's medical bills are fortunately covered by state insurance, Vanessa faces a long road to recovery in the next several weeks, months, and years. Her journey will include many types of rehabilitative therapy and lifelong immunosuppressive medications. Financially, Vanessa was just starting her post-college career in public health research--with the ultimate goal of becoming a nurse practitioner--when she got sick. She had just signed a new lease and has a backlog of rent to pay, among other bills. She has limited savings and will be unable to work for several more months as she recovers from this major event and adjusts to life with a chronic illness.

 

Vanessa is constantly giving of herself to others, and it is my dearest hope that in this time of crisis we can give of ourselves to support her. Every little bit helps, and it's one way we can show her all our love. We love you so, so much Vanessa and are rooting for you every step of the way.