Heart patient appeals to public for assistance

Tonight a retired school teacher is asking for the public’s assistance. According to forty six year old Carla Slusher, in 2005 she was forced to quit her twenty-seven year career because of her worsening diabetes. But earlier this year the mother of five took another medical hit when she was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, which requires urgent surgery. She spoke to us today from her bed at the K.H.M.H.

Carla Slusher, Needs Operation Abroad
“In May, the end of May I had a heart attack and last month I had a massive one, another one and it doesn’t look too well, I had to come in yesterday. They did an EKG and the doctor is saying that the more of these I get, the more of these shortness [of breath], it makes it more critical for me because I need to get out to do surgery urgently.”

Dr. Curtis Samuels, Cardiologist
“The condition her heart is such that she needs to go abroad for a coronary angiography and most likely an angioplasty. These are procedures where they introduce a catheter into the vascular system and they investigate how severe the heart disease is; multi-vessel meaning one or more vessels and how accessible this is actually to angioplasty. If it is indeed severe then they might have to do bypass surgery.”

Carla Slusher
“As early as this weekend if I had the funds I would have gotten out. Today they are doing a barbeque for me to try and raise some money and I had sent out a couple letters to some business place, but it’s not even near what I need.”

Kendra Griffith
“How much are you hoping to raise?”

Carla Slusher
“Well at least to be able to leave now, at least ten thousand and whatever comes in after that, they can always send, so that I can move. I need to move quickly.”

Dr. Curtis Samuels
“I explain to her that it’s best that she goes now because she doesn’t want to wait until a second heart attack occurs because as it is, she has to be coming in and out, she’s sustaining chest pains and her quality of life has been affected and we wouldn’t want it to end in a massive M.I. and a fatality, so the best thing for her to do is to go abroad. We don’t have this service available in unfortunately.”

Carla Slusher
“I realise I have to move fast or else I won’t make it.”

If you would like to assist Carla Slusher you can deposit funds into Scotiabank, account number 1003131 or contact her at 621-3898 or 203-0354.