Jennifer Ortiz, 24, from Colorado suffers from heart failure, but that hasn’t stopped her from living her life to the fullest.
Ortiz wants to complete as many of her bucket list items as possible.
According to Fox affiliate KDVR, Ortiz had her first heart transplant at just 12 years old. She got diagnosed with an enlarged heart after her mother took her to the emergency room following a long-lasting cough she had.
Ortiz’s first heart transplant was only good for a few years and she was once again recommended for a heart transplant in 2017.
Now, she’s again on the verge of heart failure, according to a report from KDVR.
Speaking to KDVR, the father of the suffering girl said she has recently been denied heart transplant from UCLA. The institution suggested her to go for palliative, a treatment plan designed to end one’s life peacefully.
Mr. Ortiz said: “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to have to think about burying your own child.”
As of now, according to the report of KDVR, Ortiz is living thanks to the two black bags attached to her chest called BiVADS.
As her ‘own’ heart has no electric activity, which means it is not functional on its own, the devices in the black bags pump the blood in every chamber of her heart for her.
Mr. Ortiz explained the condition of his daughter, saying: “They’re not designed to be a total artificial heart.”
He further told that his daughter is the only one in the world to be on BiVADS after having two heart transplants and with a totally absent heartbeat.
Ortiz told KDVR about the treatment, saying: “We really don’t know what the future holds, we don’t know how much time is left.”
Due to the overwhelming uncertainty she’s facing about her life, Ortiz has created a bucket list and has also started a GoFundMe campaign which has raised near $40,000 so far.
The money will help her “enjoy life to the fullest.”
“I am trying to fulfill my bucket list for not just me, but everyone who means so much to me. I want them to be able to have a good and positive memory that they can keep forever. Any help to get me to do these things, is greatly appreciated,” her GoFundMe page reads.
Ortiz’s bucket list consists of all sorts of tasks, from enjoying delicious beignets in New Orleans and attending a live concert of Lizzo to renting a residence in California to enjoying Thanksgiving with her family (something she’s been missing for the last five years).
Other entries in her bucket list include visiting Spain, New York, Morocco, and Dubai. She also wants to meet the Jonas Brothers and Bruno Mars one-on one.
Ortiz said there are many nice places she’d love to visit but she needs to be at places where she can get proper and timely health care in case something unexpected happens.
“We’ve got to condense a lifetime into as much time as we have,” her dad said. “It’s a shame that it takes something like this happening to say, ‘Hey, let’s get up and start living.’”
Replaced!