Celebrating the Life of Ufelia

My stepdaughter, Ufelia was a beautiful, brilliant, and loving young lady. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, niece, and friend. She was a social butterfly, actress, model, singer, and force to be reckoned with. On September 1, the Lord saw fit to call Ufelia join her mother and aunt (Plechette and Stephanie) in heaven. Thank you to everyone who contributed or wanted to contribute to Ufelia's gofundme (previously titled Ufelia's Heart Transplant). We appreciate each and every one of you. After her transplant, Ufelia attended college at Bellarmine University and made many friends. She loved spending time with her family (especially her sisters and brothers) and her friends. When she was home, her laugh and smile were infectious and she could often be heard laughing with her sister in the wee hours of the morning or cracking jokes with her dad. Unfortunately, in July she began experiencing heart issues that she was unable to overcome. Any future contributions will be applied towards burial and medical expenses. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Original post - Ufelia's Heart Transplant (below): My stepdaughter, Ufelia is a beautiful, brilliant, and loving young lady with a bright future ahead of her. Despite experiencing numerous adversities, throughout her young life, she has excelled academically, modeled locally, and performed in her school's theatre program. But now she is in the greatest fight of her life - the search for a heart.

When Ufelia was in elementary school, she and her siblings lost their mother suddenly due to a heart condition. Following the loss, she and her two older siblings made the difficult move from Louisiana to Kentucky to live with their father. The transition was challenging as the kids navigated grief and bonding with new family. Despite these challenges, Ufelia continued to thrive academically and expressed an interest in medicine.

In high school, Ufelia continued to flourish academically and began to come into her own socially, participating in extracurricular activities including HOSA, theatre, YPD, and fashion council. But in what should have been the best years of her high school career, Ufelia was sidelined by dialated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the left ventricle of the heart is enlarged and prevents it from pumping effectively. While she was born with this condition and it had been managed with medication for years, in the fall semester of her junior year, Ufelia began to experience the effects of heart failure and was hospitalized numerous times. Ufelia's cardiology team tried to manage her advanced symptoms through medication, but in the fall of her senior year, with a pandemic raging, Ufelia was finally listed for a heart transplant. The road to listing has been a long, hard one filled with uncertainty, but despite the situation, Ufelia was able to graduate this year with a cumulative GPA over 3.0 (a GPA she has maintained since arriving in Kentucky), earn a scholarship to Bellarmine University, and be inducted into the International Thespian Society.

Ufelia and our family's journey is far from over. In early March, just after her 18th birthday, she was re-admitted to the hospital and moved up the transplant list. This will be her longest admission to date as she awaits a suitable heart. Also during this time, her father, a 22-year Army veteran, was laid off from his job of 12 years, resulting in a sudden loss and change of insurance. With the average cost of a heart transplant estimated to be in excess of over $1 million, your contributions will be immensely beneficial in helping facilitate Ufelia's continuous pre- and post-transplant needs, pursue her future aspirations, and return her to her family.