US4 min(s) read
A 41-year-old mother of two who competed as a strength athlete across San Diego has lost both arms and both legs after a routine heart checkup uncovered a tear in her aorta that nearly killed her before she even knew it was there.
Leslie Caoili went to see a doctor in May for what was supposed to be a standard evaluation. Instead, they found a Stanford Type A aortic dissection, a catastrophic tear in the inner layer of the main artery coming from her heart.
Her husband Lee told ABC she had been hours from dying and neither of them had any idea.
"Most people who suffer an aortic dissection usually happens pretty quickly, and they don't survive," he said.
"So the surgery was necessary in order to save her life.
"She probably had maybe hours left to live, and we wouldn't even, we didn't even know it."
The operation to save her life involved cardiopulmonary bypass and extensive reconstruction of her aorta.
It worked, and she survived.
Then it got worse.
In the weeks that followed, Leslie lost blood circulation to her hands and feet.
Her husband described watching it happen in real time.
"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."
There was no improvement, which meant that the doctors had no choice but to amputate her hands at the mid-forearm and remove both of her legs.
A woman who had been competing as a strength athlete months earlier was now a quadruple amputee.
She has been in hospital for three months. She is about to be discharged.
Her family said her response to losing all four limbs surprised everyone around her.
Rather than breaking down, she asked doctors to be straight with her about what had happened and what her future would look like.
The family's GoFundMe page describes her as 'more than a patient in a hospital bed'.
"She is a loving wife, devoted mother, daughter, sister, and friend who has touched so many people with her kindness, strength, and love.
"She has always been the person others could depend on, and now we are asking for help on her behalf during the most difficult time our family has ever faced."
Leslie and Lee have two daughters and a dog.
They were already in the middle of renovating their house in Spring Valley when the medical emergency happened.
Those plans have now been completely redrawn around Leslie's needs.
Lee is asking for skilled volunteers to help overhaul the property before she comes home. He needs electricians, HVAC technicians, roofers, flooring installers, carpenters, and painters.
"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," he said.
"Every day has been a battle for her. Every day has been a fight."
A Stanford Type A aortic dissection is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the largest artery in the body, which carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart.
When the tear occurs in the upper section of the aorta near the heart, it is classified as Type A and is considered a medical emergency.
Without surgery, the condition is frequently fatal within hours.
Even with surgery, complications including organ damage and loss of circulation to the limbs are recognised risks, though losing all four limbs is rare.
The condition can occur suddenly and without warning, even in otherwise healthy and physically active individuals. In Leslie's case, it was found by chance during what her family thought was a routine appointment.
The GoFundMe has raised over $93,000 of a $140,000 target as of today.
The funds will go towards medical expenses, ICU-related travel and lodging, household expenses during her recovery, and long-term rehabilitation.
You can donate to it here.
