My dad, while on a volunteer trip in CR, was flown to CIMA hospital in San Jose suffering from severe heart failure. Your expert care and treatment is why he is still alive today. I will never forget the concern and compassion you showed me and my family, and we are eternally grateful to all of you. It was an extremely long journey after returning to the US. He spent two more weeks in the hospital here and then two weeks in rehab before returning home. He went from not being able to breathe on his own, barely being able to get out of bed, to standing, to walking 20 feet with a walker, to walking on his own. And just a month a go he went on a three week cruise! And he has many more trips planned (even though we tried to steal his passport from him when he got home). Traveling and helping people is what he loves to do and we will never be able to keep him from doing these things. And thanks to all of you, he can continue doing what he loves! I wanted to share a message with each of you.

Dr. Bouzid, you were the doctor who first treated him when arriving at San Jose. Your quick and critical decision-making to intubate him immediately and start him on medications to improve his cardiac output were the first essential steps in keeping him alive. I remember vividly our first conversation. Things were not looking good and your clear and honest explanation of the situation helped us to understand the seriousness of his condition. Thank you for giving me my father back.  

Dr. Espitaleta, you spent many critical hours with my father. You always graciously kept us updated on his condition and were patient with all of our, especially my, questions. I know I called you often to discuss things, and I appreciate all the time you spent with us.  The care you provided was incredible. Thank you for allowing me many more years with my dad.

Dr. Kafarela, you were the physician who helped facilitate my father’s transfer home to the US. If you recall, my father decided to self-extubate himself two days before the flight home. The day he was to be flown back, the flight team would not take him until he was re-intubated. I called you, and you came right away and re-intubated him so we could get home. You may not remember, but you along with the nurse, Jorge, provided me with some paralytics for the flight home so my dad would not fight the ventilator. I don’t think we would have made it home without that. It was the longest 6 hours of my life on that flight. Thank you for saving my dad.

Last but not least- to Jorge, one of the wonderful critical care nurses, as well as all the other nurses, your day to day, hour to hour care for my father was invaluable to his recovery. As a critical care nurse, I saw the high level of care you all provided and he would not be here without all of you. 

You all are forever in my family’s hearts. Because of each of you, my dad will be able to walk me down the aisle at my wedding in October! I love you all and hope to come back to CIMA soon with my father and see you all again.