Tom Carlucci

On the morning of Tuesday, May 27th, 2025, Tom was placed in an ambulance and sent to Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey, after a phone call made to 911 by his daughter, Corinne. Tom was found disoriented, lethargic, and nearly unable to walk. His breathing labored, legs aching, he was also found to have a fever, amid excessive sweating, and experiencing chills. All of this occurred merely hours after a wonderful night out to dinner with family to cap off a long Memorial Day weekend, with having attended his grandson Cameron’s baseball game early in the day.

After arriving at the hospital, it was not long before his family was updated that Tom was in both heart and kidney failure, suffering from sepsis and showing signs of having had a mini stroke. After emergency treatment, he was stable, and in the coming week it was determined that an infectious growth was present on one of the lead wires from his heart’s pacemaker. (Tom had received the pacemaker shortly after undergoing a triple bypass, with double valve replacement, less than two and a half years ago, on January 30th, 2023.). This particular infection had caused further complication in that the aggressive antibiotic regiment was rendered ineffective, due to the growth existing on a foreign object, resistant to the medication, which was meant for human tissue, not artificial valves or pacemakers.

The decision was made to remove the pacemaker entirely, at great risk, as it was the only way to remove the infection and continue forward toward recovery. Tom was transferred to Cooperman Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, on June 3rd, 2025. A successful extraction procedure was performed the following day. Within the next couple of days, Tom was transferred back to Community in Toms River for what was to be his rehabilitation before a new pacemaker was to be installed. These initial hopes began to dwindle in the coming week, with his body only showing marginal improvements at best, and none of those marginal improvements were with his overall heart function. With both sides of his heart compromised, and inadequately pumping blood throughout his body, his condition began to decline. Out of options at Community, Tom’s children, Thom and Corinne, advocating for their father, demanded he be transferred to Robert Wood Johnson Heart Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as soon as possible.

At their insistence, along with the support of Tom’s younger brother Steve, sister-in-law Patti, and son-in-law Michael, Tom was transferred that same day to Robert Wood Johnson on June 13, 2025. After arriving there, a new care plan was immediately put into action, starting with rounds of dialysis with the hope of regaining kidney function. After initial treatments, and a change in medications, his condition stabilized, though another complication would soon be discovered.

A week after arrival, the doctors determined that the infection had spread to the artificial valves that had been replaced in 2023, and that the infection as a whole, stemmed from an issue with his teeth. After a brief dental surgery, Tom underwent open heart surgery for the second time within 3 years, on June 23, 2025. The valves were replaced successfully, however after monitoring his condition closely after surgery, and not seeing the initial improvement they hoped for, the doctors performed yet another procedure. They installed a short-term device called an Impella to aid the left side of his heart in pumping blood, with further assistance being provided by an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Machine). The hope was that these measures taken would allow his heart to begin its own healing process.

In the weeks that followed, his heart has shown only minor improvements despite all the actions that have been taken. The Impella device was removed on Friday, July 11th, because long-term assistance causes its own detriment. Now, one month after being admitted to Robert Wood Johnson, and 47 days since this harrowing ordeal began, Tom is hanging on and still fighting for his life, his family quietly hoping for a miracle.

Many people at this point have reached out and asked how they can help. This Go Fund Me was started as a way for you to directly support Tom and his family with expenses including medical bills, living expenses, and caregiving costs. Anyone who knows Tom knows that at the end of the day, he’s a fighter. Thank you for joining Tom and his family in this fight.

Tom’s family would like to thank everyone for all their love and support during this time. As new information emerges, updates will be presented here.