A San Diego woman’s life changed forever after surgery left her with no blood circulation to her limbs –– leading to doctors amputating her arms and legs.
Leslie Caoili, 41, of Spring Valley, had gone for a routine heart checkup in May when doctors found she was suffering from a life-threatening Type A aortic dissection, a catastrophic tear in the main artery coming from her heart.
She required immediate surgery for cardiopulmonary bypass and extensive reconstruction of her aorta, otherwise she could die.
“She probably had maybe hours left to live,” her husband, Amery Lee Caoili told ABC.
The mother of two daughters was a competitive strength athlete and competed throughout San Diego before the heartbreaking discovery.
The Caoili family had hoped that the extensive surgical procedure would be the end of their concerns but she lost blood flow to her hands and feet in the weeks after the procedure.
“We didn’t really know how her body was gonna respond to the initial surgery, but she ended up losing blood flow to her hands and her feet, and by the end of the first month there, her hands and her feet were blackened and shriveled,” Caoili said.
With no improvement in blood circulation, doctors were forced to amputate her hands at the mid-forearm, as well as both legs. She has been in the hospital for a few months and will soon be discharged.
While her family is thrilled to bring her home, their house is far from ready for her current needs. To ensure Leslie returns to an accessible environment, her husband is asking skilled volunteers — including electricians, HVAC technicians, roofers, flooring installers, and painters—to help pull off a complete home overhaul.
“She just wants to come home to her family and her kids and her dog and me and wants to get back to living life as normal as we can make it for her,” Caoili said.
They have created a GoFundMe to help with the expense.
