Heart disease advocate Abi-Gaye Smythe was gearing up to donate life-saving medical gear to the University Hospital of the West Indies when fate dealt a cruel hand, landing her in a bed at the very same facility just days before the official handover. The 33-year-old founder of the I Have A Heart Foundation was scheduled to present specialised equipment to UHWI’s Cardiothoracic Unit on July 24 to help launch minimally invasive open-heart surgery in Jamaica. Instead, she found herself stuck in an eight-day hospital stay after doctors initially feared she was suffering a mild heart attack. Smythe, who has spent years championing the rights of heart patients while secretly fighting her own set of devastating diagnoses, admitted she initially tried to ignore the warning signs. “For a while I had been experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains and lightheadedness but brushed it off as the usual heart and lung disease symptoms. It got worse on July 21 and I called me a cab and rushed to the hospital,” she told THE WEEKEND STAR. Her condition quickly deteriorated once she arrived at the facility. “Initially they thought it was a mild heart attack and so I was admitted for eight days. During the first five days, I was in bad shape. I couldn’t sit up or stand without my heart rate peaking and me feeling like I’m gonna pass out and being out of breath. Just talking had me out of breath. The chest pain was really bad!” Medical staff immediately ran a battery of tests, probing for potential autoimmune issues. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with pericarditis — an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart — alongside costochondritis, which causes painful inflammation in the chest wall cartilage. “What caused them? We can’t pinpoint a definitive cause,” Smythe said of the sudden double diagnosis. The medical emergency marks yet another crushing blow for the advocate, who already battles Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD), a rare and progressive heart condition. Her gruelling medical rap sheet also includes severe restrictive lung disease, cervical degenerative disc disease, patellofemoral osteoarthritis in both knees, endometriosis, scoliosis, and chronic cluster headaches. The specialised tools her charity was set to deliver were meant to allow surgeons to operate through a patient’s side rather than cutting open the chest — slashing recovery times and sparing patients severe pain. The intended handover was slated to be the foundation’s second major gift to the facility, following a 2023 donation of a surgical light valued at roughly US$3,000. Smythe’s persistent advocacy had also previously helped the hospital secure two full-time perfusionists. Now, the woman who built a legacy helping others is facing a desperate financial squeeze of her own. “I started a GoFundMe account to buy a new battery for my heart and the goal is US$25,000 (approximately J$3.9 million). I′ve had to go in that money to cover medical expenses from my recent hospital stay amounting to approximately J$300,000,” she revealed. With new symptoms cropping up, those costs are set to surge even higher. “I have more to spend as doctors also suspect something neurological, so I’ll have to see a neurologist and do an MRI on my brain. This will more than likely suck more life from my battery which has 11 months left. Last time I did an MRI in January, it sucked six months from it.” Now discharged, Smythe remains on strict bed rest, juggling a heavy cocktail of new prescriptions alongside treatments for her pre-existing conditions. “All my money goes to medical expenses and living expenses - rent and utilities. My family, though supportive in any way they can, is not enough,” she said. The brutal cycle of health scares and mounting bills have taken a heavy mental toll on the campaigner. “Mentally, I don’t even know how I’m keeping up. I’d say God, my faith, and my will to live is pushing me.” Despite the dire circumstances, the veteran activist — who has spent over a decade organising blood drives and pushing for cardiac care across Jamaica — refuses to give up on a healthier future. “My goal is to one day be off prescription meds and go all natural but, for now, I have to do what I have to do.” As her heart battery runs down, Smythe is issuing an urgent public plea for donations through her GoFundMe campaign to help cover her soaring medical bills and keep her alive.

To help Abi-Gaye Smythe power her heart and stay in the fight, donate to her GoFundMe campaign at https://gofund.me/23b07e578 Donations may also be made to her bank account at:  NCB 354606178 Savings Account  Knutsford Blvd Branch