Trey's Medical Funds
Donation protected
I've started this GoFundMe to help my boyfriend's family pay for his medical bills. My boyfriend is 19 years old and has been a recent a recipient of an HVAD, a device to help his heart.
In the last few months of 2015, my boyfriend Trey started becoming sick. In late October/early November he came down with a sinus infection. The sinus infection and its side-effects would come and go. Some days were really good days where he felt okay and others not so much. As November went on, the sinus infection started taking a greater toll on him, to the point where he was throwing up most everything he consumed and was getting winded from taking short walks around his college campus or from getting up and moving around for a bit. He made numerous doctor's visits to see what was wrong and in late November/early December his doctor told him that there may be something wrong with his heart. Days after he was back in the office because he was feeling worse. While Trey was in the office with his family, his father, a fireman, noticed that Trey started drooling from one side of his face. His father looked at him closely and asked him to smile but Trey could only manage half a smile. It was then that his father performed a CPSS test (Cincinnati Pre-Hospital Stroke Scale) and the office staff called for an ambulance to transport Trey to the local hospital. By the time Trey had gotten to the hospital he had fully recovered from the stroke. Trey spent most of that evening in the emergency room and was later transported to his own room where he spent the night.
The following day his family was informed that Trey actually had two mini-strokes, which was great news, but he was also in heart failure. That evening it was decided that Trey would be transported by ambulance to the Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He spent several days at Baylor where he received excellent treatment and care from a team of Advanced Heart Failure Cardiologists. Trey received numerous rounds of testing and blood work to ensure he had the proper diagnosis. After his first few days at Baylor, the family was able to meet with the doctors who diagnosed Trey with Non-Compaction Heart Failure. In layman's terms, Trey suffered from small perforations in his left ventricle which interfered with blood circulation to the right aorta. From there on, doctors constructed a plan of recovery for Trey. He now has to wear a defibrillator vest and wear an over-the-shoulder bag that holds medicine that is supposed to heal the perforations in his heart.
As December ended and January rolled around, Trey was trying to get back to being himself but was still dealing with various issues. He still had to make emergency visits to Baylor because he would experience shortness of breath or other forms of sickness. In early-to-mid January it was decided that Trey would have the HVAD procedure. (The HVAD is very similar to an LVAD but it is smaller, less bulky...the LVAD, or left ventricular assist device, is a mechanical pump that is implanted inside a person's chest to help a weakened heart pump blood throughout the body.)
Within a week, Trey spoke with surgeons and went to clinics to 'prepare' him for the surgery. On Thursday January 21, Trey had the procedure and was in ICU for recovery. He has now moved into a recovery room where he will spend between 2-4 weeks recuperating. Trey now has to learn to adjust to life with the MVAD. He can no longer participate in contact sports, submerge his body in water, and can only do light cardio.
As you can imagine, this has been quite an ordeal for Trey and his family and has put a bit of a damper on his college career. He now has to look into living within 50 miles of Bayor Dallas and this going to be an added cost to the family's medical bills. It's unknown at this time how long these living arrangements will last, so it would be a wonderfully generous thing if I could be a part of raising some funds to help ease the burden of Trey's living arrangements until he is cleared by doctors to return to the family home.
Heartfelt thanks and appreciation for any contributions you may be able to share with the family.
If you are interested in learning more about what the HVAD is, you can read up about it here:
http://www.heartware.com/products-technology/technology-pipeline
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/vad
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/services/lvad-devices
In the last few months of 2015, my boyfriend Trey started becoming sick. In late October/early November he came down with a sinus infection. The sinus infection and its side-effects would come and go. Some days were really good days where he felt okay and others not so much. As November went on, the sinus infection started taking a greater toll on him, to the point where he was throwing up most everything he consumed and was getting winded from taking short walks around his college campus or from getting up and moving around for a bit. He made numerous doctor's visits to see what was wrong and in late November/early December his doctor told him that there may be something wrong with his heart. Days after he was back in the office because he was feeling worse. While Trey was in the office with his family, his father, a fireman, noticed that Trey started drooling from one side of his face. His father looked at him closely and asked him to smile but Trey could only manage half a smile. It was then that his father performed a CPSS test (Cincinnati Pre-Hospital Stroke Scale) and the office staff called for an ambulance to transport Trey to the local hospital. By the time Trey had gotten to the hospital he had fully recovered from the stroke. Trey spent most of that evening in the emergency room and was later transported to his own room where he spent the night.
The following day his family was informed that Trey actually had two mini-strokes, which was great news, but he was also in heart failure. That evening it was decided that Trey would be transported by ambulance to the Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He spent several days at Baylor where he received excellent treatment and care from a team of Advanced Heart Failure Cardiologists. Trey received numerous rounds of testing and blood work to ensure he had the proper diagnosis. After his first few days at Baylor, the family was able to meet with the doctors who diagnosed Trey with Non-Compaction Heart Failure. In layman's terms, Trey suffered from small perforations in his left ventricle which interfered with blood circulation to the right aorta. From there on, doctors constructed a plan of recovery for Trey. He now has to wear a defibrillator vest and wear an over-the-shoulder bag that holds medicine that is supposed to heal the perforations in his heart.
As December ended and January rolled around, Trey was trying to get back to being himself but was still dealing with various issues. He still had to make emergency visits to Baylor because he would experience shortness of breath or other forms of sickness. In early-to-mid January it was decided that Trey would have the HVAD procedure. (The HVAD is very similar to an LVAD but it is smaller, less bulky...the LVAD, or left ventricular assist device, is a mechanical pump that is implanted inside a person's chest to help a weakened heart pump blood throughout the body.)
Within a week, Trey spoke with surgeons and went to clinics to 'prepare' him for the surgery. On Thursday January 21, Trey had the procedure and was in ICU for recovery. He has now moved into a recovery room where he will spend between 2-4 weeks recuperating. Trey now has to learn to adjust to life with the MVAD. He can no longer participate in contact sports, submerge his body in water, and can only do light cardio.
As you can imagine, this has been quite an ordeal for Trey and his family and has put a bit of a damper on his college career. He now has to look into living within 50 miles of Bayor Dallas and this going to be an added cost to the family's medical bills. It's unknown at this time how long these living arrangements will last, so it would be a wonderfully generous thing if I could be a part of raising some funds to help ease the burden of Trey's living arrangements until he is cleared by doctors to return to the family home.
Heartfelt thanks and appreciation for any contributions you may be able to share with the family.
If you are interested in learning more about what the HVAD is, you can read up about it here:
http://www.heartware.com/products-technology/technology-pipeline
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/vad
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/services/lvad-devices
Organizer and beneficiary
Lieve Linden
Organizer
Dallas, TX
Trey Berry
Beneficiary
