11-year-old hospitalized after suffering 3 heart attacks
FORT WORTH, Texas — An 11-year-old girl is surrounded by family members at Cook Children's Medical Center in Texas after suffering three heart attacks last week that have left her fighting to survive in the hospital's intensive care unit.
Irma Rodriguez collapsed at school on Thursday and was rushed to the hospital, her family said.
"We are so thankful for the staff," said Daniel Rodriguez, the girl's uncle. "They work very hard. She had three heart attacks when she got to the hospital. The doctors gave her CPR and electric shock in the heart."
Rodriguez said the sixth grader remains in critical condition on life support. She will likely need a heart transplant.
That is proving difficult.
One hospital in Dallas, Texas, refused; and another in Houston is making a decision this week, Rodriguez said, adding that Irma's fragile state would make any trip to Houston — or even a life-giving transplant — difficult right now.
"It's just very tough," he said.
Nereyda Verastegui has been singing to her daughter in the hospital.
"I don't want to see her like that," Verastegui said, fighting back tears. "Everything is so hard."
Verastegui said Irma didn't suffer from any known underlying medical conditions, and that she had been "very active."
The patient's mother has had to stop working, while her father cut back from two jobs to one so he could spend more time at the hospital.
The family said it doesn't have medical insurance, but is trying to get coverage. They have set up a GoFundMe page to accept donations.