Ermila Ortiz is in recovery from a surgery she wasn't sure she'd survive. 

"I have a second chance," the Harlingen resident said. “I was literally a ticking time bomb.”

Last September, the 57-years-old woman went to get routine blood work done for the first time since the Covid pandemic started.

“They told me, ‘You're a very sick woman,’” Ortiz recalled

Ortiz’s cholesterol was high, and her calcium was five times higher than normal.

“I had some veins at 60%, 70%, 80%, and one vein that was a small vein like 90% blockage,” Ortiz recalled. “Right then and there, they told me, ‘You're going to need open-heart surgery.’" 

In the month leading up to that heart surgery, fears of her family history crept in, Ortiz said.

“Both my parents had open-heart surgery, “Ortiz explained. “My mom passed away back in 2000. She came out of surgery OK, but never woke up." 

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Ortiz’s dad survived the surgery. She said she was hopeful about her December 2022 surgery.

“[I went in] with the mindset that ‘OK, I'm going to be home for Christmas because they're telling me you're not going to feel any different. You're going to go to sleep, and you're going to wake up."’ 

But the mother of six didn't wake up.

"The surgeon called me that afternoon and said that the surgery did not go according to plan,” South Heart Clinic Cardiologist Dr. Michael Balderas said. “When I asked him specifically what issue, he was pretty worried."

Balderas had to open Ortiz's heart again in what he described as a “risky operation.”

Ortiz is now on the road to recovery. It's been nearly two months since her surgery, and doctors say she won't feel back to normal for up to a year.  

Ortiz said the experience was a scare for her family, but she's grateful to still be here.

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