ADRIAN, Mich. — A Lenawee County man is fighting for his life. His family is pleading for help from our community.
Gabe Villanueva of Adrian lost control of his vehicle and crashed three years ago, when he was a high school senior. He survived but suffered serious medical issues.
His family would later find out the crash caused a tear in his coronary artery. Scar tissue formed, blocking the flow of blood to his heard. At just 17 years old, he suffered his first heart attack.
Later, Villanueva suffered a second heart attack. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma at the Universty of Michigan, where his heart began to fail.
He's already gone through a risky surgery, suffered a massive stroke and slipped into another coma. Now, Villanueva awaits a heart transplant.
The young man has been on the heart transplant list for two years. His mother, Lindsey McMordie, reached out to WTOL 11. She said her son has now formed a clot in his heart pump and needs a direct donation. The family is hopeful to find a donor by Friday afternoon. Otherwise, doctors will have to go in and switch the heart pump, which would require another 10-hour surgery.
Family members ask anyone in a position to give Gabe a new heart to contact Gift of Life through your local hospital. You can request a direct organ donation to Gabriel Villanueva at the University of Michigan.
