Ray's Medical Fund

I’d like to tell you about Ray Leach AKA Butch; he is a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and much more to so many people. About 6 years ago he was diagnosed with an Enlarged Heart or you may know it at Congestive Heart Failure. Two different heart specialists stated he would need a heart transplant, this was devastating news. Thankfully a specialist in Rochester NY, at Strong Memorial Hospital, gave another option. He changed his lifestyle choices, put him on medicine and has been monitored for the last 6 years. Three days ago Butch was away working out of state in Indiana when his wife Bobbie Jo got the call that he was being taken to hospital in an ambulance with shortness of breath and chest pain. Butch being the very strong and stubborn man that he is said he was fine and not to come out to Indiana. The next day they got the news, and it turned out it was much worse than they initially had thought. That same day his wife Bobbie Jo, youngest Son and brother in law drove down to Indiana to be with him. Today his heart percentage is down to 10%, this is normally at 55% or higher for the average person. The doctors inserted an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) which is a mechanical device that helps the heart pump blood. This device is inserted into the aorta, the body's largest artery. It is a long, thin tube called a catheter with a balloon on the end of it. This means for him that he can not be moving around therefore he is very heavily sedated and actually restrained. They just got the news that Butch is unfortunately not a candidate for a heart transplant. They are currently looking at doing an LVAD, left ventricular assist device, a pump that is used for patients who have reached end-stage heart failure. It is surgically implanted; it’s a battery-operated mechanical pump, which then helps the left ventricle (main pumping chamber of the heart) pump blood to the rest of the body. But they are not sure yet as to what they will be doing for him, this is just an option, the only option they have been offered at this point. He was supposed to be air lifted from Indiana to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester NY as soon as a bed became available, but unfortunately the insurance denied it. New York is where his home and family is located. The airlift to New York is very expensive and the family is asking for any donations to help with possibly bringing him home to NY, the cost of medical bills, and the cost of living. This has been a very rough road so far, and they have a long road ahead of them still. Please pass this along.