Pastor Sierra

On August 18, 2018, Pastor Roberto Sierra was on a family vacation in Florida with his wife, Melinda Sierra and eight-year-old son, Jahaziel G. Sierra, when he began experiencing chest pains, difficulty breathing, and high fever. Around 2:00 AM, in tears, he asked his wife, Melinda Sierra, to take him to the Emergency Room. They awoke Jahaziel and rushed to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. At that moment, they could not conceive that it would be the beginning of a long journey, which to date has been difficult not only for Roberto but also for his wife and son.

 Before this incident took place, Roberto would have dialysis treatments at home three nights a week after his wife Melinda had received the proper training. He had completed his kidney transplant orientation and had the proper physical examinations done before this Florida trip in order to move forward with the transplant process. His wife offered to be his living kidney donor through the Kidney Swap Program which offers hope for unmatched donors. They were both very eager to get it done so that they could once again live a normal life.

 On August 19th, when Roberto arrived at the Lakeland emergency room, doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia. As his lungs were not able to take in a normal amount of oxygen, his heart had to compensate by working twice as hard. This problem was further compounded by the fact that he had low levels of hemoglobin, the protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the bloodstream. All of these issues came to a head, causing Roberto to suffer a minor heart attack. Doctors performed tests and confirmed that Roberto had three compromised arteries. They immediately scheduled him for a triple heart bypass surgery for Monday, August 27th. Roberto requested to have the surgery back home in Springfield, Massachusetts since his son had to start school and his wife had to return to work.

On August 25th, Roberto flew back to Massachusetts along with his wife and son and, that same day, went into Baystate Medical Center emergency room to schedule his cardiac surgery. At least that was the plan. The very next day after being admitted, he developed a viral infection which made it impossible for doctors to perform the surgery safely.

 Everything went downhill after that. His wife Melinda was not able to return to work. Roberto went into septic shock and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit where he remained for about two weeks. He had a partial amputation of his right foot to remove an infection in his bones. Roberto became paralyzed from the waist down after his hospital admittance at Baystate Medical Center and had spine surgery (discectomy) in an attempt to correct what was believed to have caused the paralysis. He remains paralyzed unable to move on his own. Doctors diagnosed him with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and calciphylaxis (calcification of small blood vessels) resulting in poor blood circulation. Massive ulcers on his skin have become necrotic and after multiple debridements removal of damaged tissue) and various other medical treatments. Doctors have come to the conclusion that his open wounds are unlikely to heal putting him at high risk for further infection.

 Due to the many complications, he is unable to have the cardiac bypass surgery or a kidney transplant. Melinda remains out of work to care for her husband and even sleeps in the hospital with Jahaziel, who celebrated his 9th birthday in the hospital with his mom, dad, uncle Alex, and aunt Dixie on October 2nd. They continue to pray against all odds believing that God can do the impossible just like Jesus said in the scriptures, Mark 9:23 “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Although it has been hard, Roberto manages to find strength by having his wife who maintains a constant vigil at his side.

Once Roberto becomes stable and infection free for a reasonable amount of time, he will be transferred to a long-term acute-care hospital an hour away from home to undergo rehabilitation. His family is holding out hope that he could someday return home to his wife and son and return to pastor his beautiful congregation House of Restoration Shalom in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.

In the meantime, we ask for your generous support to help Melinda, who for the past three months has been the sole provider of their home and now faces the financial burden that comes with having an ill husband: medical bills, mortgage, health and car insurance, food, and utilities among other necessary expenses.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.