Zonia Volpe Martinez

Hello to everyone.  My name is Oscar Martinez.  My wife’s name is Zonia Leticia Volpe Martinez.  In 1995 at the age of 17, she was diagnosed with a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system.  This disease can spread to the lungs, liver, or bone marrow.  She had to undergo one month of daily radiation and about twenty sessions of chemotherapy treatments.  After her treatment, life was great.  
Zonia finally became a happy healthy adult.  She got married and became a mother.  She moved to San Antonio, Tx with her family and everything was going great as planned.
On July 22, 2012,  seventeen years later, she started feeling different.  She was feeling heart palpitations (irregular rapid heart beats).  This went on for 7 days.  
On July 29th, we decided to go into the hospital.  She was immediately rushed to get an EKG at Methodist Hospital.  A team of doctors and specialists examined her and told our family that she suffered a minor heart attack and something was seriously wrong with her heart.
 A cardiac catheterization which is a life threatening procedure to check the hearts function was needed.  After this procedure was performed, our family received the sad news that her heart had been damaged from the intensive radiation she received in 1995.  An emergency open heart surgery was needed.  Her mitral valve in her heart had been affected and needed replacement.  A mechanical valve (prosthetic/artificial) was placed in her heart.  In addition, she also needed a double coronary artery bypass in order to survive.  She had a 20% chance of living.  Her Surgeon was amazed at the size of her heart.  It was badly damaged by radiation that it didn't fully develop to an adult heart.  By the power of GOD, prayer, amazing doctors, and modern medicine she survived this massive surgery.  She was in surgical ICU for one week and is required to be on several medications to boost her heart rhythm as well as two blood thinners for the mechanical valve.  She spent the following three weeks recovering in the hospital.  
She finally went home and spent two years at home recovering before returning back to work at a local elementary school.  Three years later, life was great after all.  
She would sometimes complain of feeling weak and being out of breath at times.  She simply ignored the symptoms.  These symptoms started to become a daily problem.  They went on for eight months.  Once again, she felt something was just not right.  
On November 17, 2015 her cardiologist performed a stress test. She collapsed after one minute on the treadmill.  She was once again rushed to the ER.  A second cardiac catheterization was performed to check her heart and see what had caused her body to give out.  I was so worried that my son could loose his mother and I could loose my wife any minute when the doctor rushed out and told me and my in-laws, "that her bypasses had closed up."  She needed a stent to be installed in one of the bypassed arteries. The stent was placed inside the bypass and a third blood thinner was added to her medication list.  Making this very risky for future bleeds.  She spent the Thanksgiving week in the hospital recovering.  
One month later, December 17, 2015 she began to feel excruciating pain on her neck and back, almost feeling paralyzed.  She was taken to the ER once again.  She had suffered a spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (a blood clot in her lower neck area).  The doctors had to take her off her three blood thinners in order for the bleeding to stop risking her heart of heart failure.  The last two weeks of December (Christmas) were spent in the hospital recovering.  
At this point, her Cardiologist has declared her disabled to avoid any future events.  
We are reaching out to family and friends for assistance in paying for medical expenses that are still pending from 2012 to present.  Any donation amount is greatly appreciated by Zonia and myself. Thank you and many blessings to all!