He needs a new heart. She worries about how they’ll feed their three children.
As soon as her husband, on the other end of the phone line, said he needed a heart transplant, Kimberly Lanz looked down at her pointed black flats.
Still holding her phone to her ear, she mentally pictured a list of their monthly expenses, desperately searching for one they could reduce or delete. Then, still looking at her shoes — the only formal pair she can wear to work — she decided she would not get new ones as she had wanted.
“I started to think about where we could cut, even though I know we only spend money on the basics already, like housing and our phones,” said Lanz, 35. “But I knew we needed to start preparing for what’s coming.”
Later that same day, Lanz and and her husband Edirson Azocar, 38, broke down as they shared the news with Adan Hernandez, a ministry specialist for Salvation Army, that Azocar’s heart was operating at 10%.
“It was really tough. They were both crying,” Hernandez said.
The Salvation Army, a religious nonprofit, has already helped the couple as much as it can to cover some living costs, but because of the upcoming surgery, Hernandez decided to nominate the family for the Miami Herald’s Wish Book Program, a holiday fundraising drive.
“She’s a fighter. She’s very positive. And he’s a hard worker. He still works even though he shouldn’t,” Hernandez said. “I’m hoping the community can support them fight for a better future and fulfill their dreams.”
Ever since Lanz and Azocar learned about the surgery about a month ago, they’ve spent most of their time thinking about how they’ll pay their bills once it happens. He’ll need to rest for at least six months, maybe 12, to allow his body to recover — whether he wants to or not. But during that time, the Venezuelan immigrant couple will still need to pay $2,100 in rent and $120 in electricity, feed their three children and cover other costs, all with one less income.
“Thank God we got to this country, and he’ll be able to get that surgery. Thank God we’re getting that opportunity that we previously thought was impossible. We’re grateful. But we’re also worried,” Lanz said on a recent rainy afternoon that seemed to match the family’s mood inside their apartment in Little Havana.
Read full story at: https://www.miamiherald.com/living/wish-book/article281531643.html#storylink=cpy