What to Know
A California mom of two is learning to live a very different reality after the loss of her limbs. Leslie Caoili was a fit, active woman living in San Diego with her family. Then during a routine doctor’s appointment, she was told that she was dealing with a deadly heart condition.
Soon, she was in the hospital and undergoing life-saving surgery. And even though the surgery saved her life, it brought on a whole new world of complications. Caoili and her family couldn’t have anticipated that she’d spend months in the hospital while her body both shut down and recovered. Now her family is preparing to bring her home.
She didn’t even know anything was wrong.
Leslie Caoili and her husband went to the doctor for a routine heart checkup on May 1 when doctors found something no one could have anticipated. Doctors found a tear in her aorta, the main artery from the heart. Soon, she was being rushed into emergency surgery.
“Most people who suffer an aortic dissection usually happens pretty quickly, and they don’t survive. 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,” her husband Lee told ABC 10 News.
The former competitive strength athlete underwent an eight-and-a-half hour surgery to fix the tear. And while they thought that was the end of the ordeal, it was actually just the beginning.
In the weeks after her surgery, Caoili lost blood flow to her hands and feet.
“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,” her husband explained.
Because of the blood flow issues, Leslie Caoili had to have her hands and feet amputated.
Her hands were amputated at the mid-forearm, and she lost both of her legs. “Every day has been a battle for her. Every day has been a fight,” her husband said.
Lee Caoili has been by his wife’s side every single day of her months-long stay in the hospital. But her discharge day is approaching, and he’s thinking about how to make her transition home smoother. He says that their home isn’t prepared for his wife’s new reality and needs to be made accessible.
He is asking for skilled volunteers, including carpenters, electricians, HVAC technicians, roofers, flooring installers, and painters to help transform their home before his wife’s return.
“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.
The family’s lives will never be the same, and they need lots of help.
Lee also started a GoFundMe as a way to get the community help the family desperately needs. He is also using the fundraiser as a way to keep people updated on how Leslie’s health is progressing.
“Leslie is 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,” he wrote.
On July 10 he shared an update, saying that Leslie was “making incredible progress.” She began breathing on her own without the help of a ventilator, and was having improved kidney function.
“Most importantly, Leslie’s spirit remains strong. There are still difficult days, but I remind her often of the strength, resilience, and determination she’s shown throughout this journey. She continues to fight every single day,” he said.
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