This is our son Antonio (Tony) Avalos. He is the older brother to Aliana and baby brother Manny. He is 6 years old and about to celebrate his 7th birthday November 13th. He always has a smile from ear to ear, he has been through more than most of us could ever imagine. He is the comedian of our family and always makes us laugh.
Tony was born with Ebsteins Anomaly and Mitral Stenosis. After waiting as long as possible, enduring multiple tests and cardiac studies, it was determined that Tony would need Open Heart Surgery. He had his first open heart surgery at age 3. The surgeons repaired both tricuspid and mitral valves to the best of their ability. Tony had been doing well and took a turn for the worse. He had his second operation at age 4. At this time the surgeons once again repaired both valves. After 6 hours of surgery, we were finally able to see him, while we were there, Tony went into cardiac arrest and immediately rushed back into his 3rd surgery procedure. He received a prosthetic tricuspid valve and we nervously waited to see whether he would pull through. The Doctors induced a medicated coma and when Tony woke up he was having atrial flutter and ventricle tachycardia. After two weeks in ICU they implanted a defibrillator/pacemaker device. After a four week stay in the hospital, we were able to bring Tony home.
Currently, Tony is not doing as well as the doctors would like. Tony is scheduled to have his 4th open heart surgery next month. He will be getting a new tricuspid valve replacement, they will perform a Glenn Procedure, which reroutes the blood flow through your heart and lungs, he will also have an ablation to hopefully take care of the fluttering. It’s a complex surgery and all we can do is pray that everything will be okay. After all Tony has been through, he is just trying to live a normal life and be a carefree little boy.
Tony attends Fiesta Gardens International School in San Mateo and is enjoying 1st grade. He started playing soccer this year for AYSO as much as he can, mostly for the social skills and team building. Tony knows his limitations and always puts 100% effort into his activities. He loves playing card games, puzzles, dinosaurs, and action figures, like every other six year old. He is our inspiration and we look at life a different way because of him.
Since we are still trying to pay the bills for the 3rd surgery, and with a 4th surgery now imminent this has become a financial hardship for our family. Not only are we struggling to maintain the best care for our precious little boy, we are feeling the strain of not being able to afford to pay for his treatment.
We greatly appreciate Didi salon for their love and support by volunteering their services and donating the proceeds to Antonio.
We would also like to THANK the San Mateo Fire Fighters for their assistance with the Barbecue.
If you would like to donate please send your check to:
Antonio Avalos Trust Fund
C/O Bank of The West
195 East 4th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
PH: 650.685.0191
