Jackson Heart Institute Saves Chronically-Ill Father with High-Risk Heart Surgery

By: Ruelle Champion

For almost 30 years, Luis Ramos, 62, walked a road that most will never experience marked by hospital rooms, hard diagnoses, and medical emergencies.

Originally from Puerto Rico, his journey started with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1997 at 33 years old. In 2002, cancer returned with myelodysplastic syndrome, leading Ramos to a stem cell transplant.

As the years passed, he was hospitalized because of transplant rejection and worsening organ damage.

“The rejection from the transplant slowly damaged his kidneys, his liver, and eventually his heart,” said Myrna Rivera, Ramos’ wife. “It happened gradually over time.”

The effect of a COVID-19 diagnosis left Ramos on dialysis. Rivera became his support system through his medical complications and treatments.

“It’s not easy,” Rivera said. “Dialysis takes a village. It takes the whole family, but you can still live your life.”

Managing Ramos’ illnesses didn’t stop the family from traveling together; visiting Puerto Rico, Canada, Boston, and taking cruises.

“We kept living,” Rivera said. “You don’t stop just because life gets harder.”

Another gut-wrenching feeling hit Ramos and his family in August 2025. He was taken to Jackson West Medical Center during dialysis treatment with low blood pressure and weakness.

“When I saw how fast he was declining, I knew we couldn’t wait,” Rivera said. “Jackson became our rescue hospital.”

Testing showed that Ramos’ heart valve, which was replaced five years ago, was damaged. It needed to be replaced again to restore blood flow. He was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital for emergency surgery.

“As soon as I went inside his heart, it stopped,” said João Braghiroli, MD, an interventional cardiologist for Jackson Heart Institute. “We started CPR and I had to put a valve in his heart in between the team doing CPR.”

Dr. Braghiroli also placed a pump to support Ramos’ heart after his cardiac arrest. It was a high-risk procedure due to his medical history.

“It’s one of those miracles of life,” Dr. Braghiroli said. “It was a very complicated procedure but he came out really well.”

Ramos woke up from surgery with some short-term memory loss. Day by day, his mind and heart improved. What ultimately helped him reconnect was a deep love for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team as they challenged Duke University.

“He’s a huge UM fan,” Rivera shared. “The doctors told him about a big game coming up, and that helped motivate him.”

To cheer his Canes on against Duke, Ramos convinced the care team to let him go home for a weekend to attend that game. On the following Monday, he started cardiac rehabilitation.

“I think being home made it click,” Rivera said. “He realized something serious happened and that he survived.”

Since finishing rehabilitation at Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial, Ramos and his family have returned to traveling and welcomed a new grandbaby. They say the compassionate care from Jackson’s team made all the difference.

“For families dealing with diseases like Luis’, the support we feel from Jackson matters more than people realize,” Rivera said.