Gudelia Bustamante became one of only 12 people in California to receive a heart-lung transplant. She and her husband, Bob, hope to educate the Hispanic community about the importance of organ donation
After suddenly passing out last June and suffering two minor heart attacks, this 58-year-old grandmother from Tulare went into tailspin health-wise.
Within one year, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a condition that triggered a long series of hospital stays. In February, she was airlifted to Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where Dr. Michael Lee, assistant clinical professor of cardiology, performed a five-hour angioplasty. He cautioned the family, however, that only half of her heart was functioning.
To survive, she needed a new heart, doctors told her. But getting her on the transplant list wasn't so simple. She also needed a new liver because hers was deteriorating from an unrelated disease. Coupled with the fact that she was so sick and nearly 60 years old, the team was not sure that she could survive the surgery. In March, she went home on medications, but her condition continued to worsen over the next few months.
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"You have the power to SAVE lives."
To register as a donor in California:
www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org | www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org
Outside California:
www.organdonor.gov | www.donatelife.
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