Big Ernie Hope and Faith Fund

Hi, my name is Ernie II, I am raising money for my dad's medical copays, deductible and home generator installation. This is important to me and my family, to keep my dad alive and well living with his new LVAD device.

On May 24, 2023, I received a call after work that my dad, Ernie Hasty was at Kettering Medical Center and believed to have had a heart attack. He said it all began the Tuesday morning about 2:30 AM. He was awakened by chest pain but really didn’t think much about it, he said he initially thought it was indigestion. He went downstairs to get some baby aspirin and laid back down. He went on about his normal routine of going to the grocery and taking his granddaughter to and from work. He still felt bad but decided if he didn’t feel better, he would go to the ER.

The next day, he began to feel worse and felt nauseated which prompted him to seek medical attention. He finally drove himself to the ER to be examined. After some blood work it was found that his heart enzymes were through the roof and he was informed that he had been having a heart attack all along. He was admitted for some routine exams and a heart cath, however upon further examination, the doctor’s discovered that his arteries were so clogged they could not do the heart cath deciding to treat his condition with medication sent Dad home the evening of Friday, May 27th. Dad still wasn’t feeling well but chalked it up to new medications.

Saturday Morning, mom called and said Dad wasn’t feeling well and wanted to be taken back to the hospital, he then decided he felt ok and would wait, an hour or so later he felt so bad he called 911 himself. The ambulance picked up him up, during the time he was in the ambulance Dad went into cardiac arrest, where CPR was initiated and performed for 10 minutes. Mom and I went to the hospital and were placed in the Serenity Room at Kettering but we didn’t know what was going on or how serious Dad was. We were informed about the cardiac arrest and him being intubated as well as having a collapsed lung from CPR.

He was admitted to ICU at Kettering where we would learn that his heart was in such bad condition there was little hope for his survival. The doctors went back and forth, ultimately informing us they were going to send him home with Hospice or send him to The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio for a second opinion per our request to be evaluated for an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assistive Device). We were instructed to make a final decision; it was to send him to Cincinnati for further evaluation.

Dad was transferred to The Christ Hospital ICU, taken by ambulance from Kettering. After undergoing many tests and by the Grace of God, he was given the ok to proceed with the LVAD surgery. This was Dad’s second chance at life to spend more time with his loved ones, family and friends.

We are now calling on all family and friends to come together to donate to help cover the cost of his deductible, copay and installation of a home generator. The LVAD device comes with 8 batteries, Ernie will have to wear a battery pack for the rest of his life, this includes 2 batteries at a time worn with a vest which will need to be charged daily. When the battery packs are charging, he has to be plugged into a power source. These batteries only last a total of 51 hours at a time and in the event that there is a power outage he will have 15 minutes to make it to a fire station to be plugged in to an electric source to keep his heart pumping, keeping him alive. When not using the batteries, he has to be plugged into an electric source. The Hasty siblings are graciously coming together to help with the generator but there is still the cost of installation.

It was an unbelievable shock to all of us. We are so grateful to have Dad with us all a little while longer. The expense of all of this is a worry we don’t want Big E to have to think about, we want him to have the best quality of life possible with the time he has left on this earth. We faced a very difficult decision of sending him to hospice or surgery to continue to live. He wanted to live and we wanted to give him hope. Big E isn’t done yet, God has more work for him to do. He has been so positive through the entire experience, with very minimal complaints if any at all. He has continued to smile and state how blessed he has been, thanking the Lord every chance it can.

Please consider a donation to help with the medical costs, installation of the generator and future medical supplies. Without this device we were faced with planning a funeral and saying goodbye to our dad. This has all been very emotional for all of the family. In the midst of all of this, Dad was concerned about his family and continued to put them before his needs, him on his death bed. Big E has prayed for many believers and non-believers at the end of their lives, sharing the good news with the lost, making sure they asked the Lord into their lives. Talking people through the sinner’s prayer for those who felt unworthy of eternity and entering the kingdom of heaven.

Dad is here for a purpose and we hope you join us in fulfilling the Lord’s plan until he calls Big E home.

Thank you!