Dallas real estate agent and engaged to be married Laura Avila, 36, (pictured) is on life support after she jet-setted to Mexico for a cut-rate nose job
A Dallas real estate agent is currently on life support and suffering severe brain damage after she jet-setted off to Mexico for a cut-rate nose job that went horribly awry.
Laura Avila, 36, booked an appointment for the rhinoplasty procedure, estimated to be less than a third of the average US cost, October 30 at the Rino Center in Juarez, Mexico.
The average price of a rhinoplasty in the US is $7,500, according to RealSelf.
Avila’s supportive fiancé, Enrique Cruz, traveled along with her for the operation and was by her side before it began.
The anticipated appointment, however, already started off a nightmare when Avila was administered anesthesia via her spine.
The anesthesia traveled to her brain, instead of down her body.
Within moments, she went into cardiac arrest and hospital officials were forced to place her into a medically induced coma to prevent further brain damage. Her fiancé wasn’t informed about the severity of the situation.
Avila’s supportive fiancé, Enrique Cruz, traveled with her for the operation October 30 at the Rino Center in Juarez. The happy couple are pictured in a loved-up Facebook photo
The appointment started off a nightmare when Avila was administered anesthesia via her spine. The anesthesia traveled to her brain instead of down her body
Her fiancé was initially not informed about the severity of the situation
A distraught Cruz told WFAA: ‘I was really concerned… I got upset because they wouldn’t let me see her.’
He said doctors initially told him her blood pressure dropped, and they could not move forward with the surgery.
The patient’s sister, Angie Avila, told the station her sister was lured into the procedure because ‘the price, compared to those in U.S., was less than a third.’
The real estate agent, who is also a singer and dancer, was under care at the Mexico clinic for four days before she was finally transported to a university hospital in El Paso, Texas.
According to the station, Avila has been refused care by three Dallas hospitals because she is not insured.
Her family said officials at the Rino Center gave them a hard time about leaving because they didn’t pay the bill in full.
The Rino Center in Juarez, Mexico is pictured above in a Google Maps image
A post promoting the rhinoplasty procedure is seen on the clinic’s Facebook page
Avila’s sister told WFAA: ‘The hospital in Mexico basically held us hostage because we wouldn’t pay the full amount.’
When Avila and her worried loves ones finally arrived to the Texas hospital, doctors confirmed she was brain dead.
Angie Avila told the station the damage is so horrific that ‘she will never be our Laura again.’
Avila’ sister and fiancé could not be reached by DailyMail.com late Tuesday for comment.
Angie Avila shared further details about her sister’s medical state in a GoFundMe page, which reached nearly $70,000 of its $150,000 goal as of late Tuesday.
A distraught Cruz (pictured left with Avila) recalled from the nightmare day: ‘I was really concerned… I got upset because they wouldn’t let me see her’
When Avila and her loves ones finally arrived to the Texas hospital, doctors confirmed she was brain dead
Avila has been refused care by three Dallas hospitals because she is not insured
‘Physicians recently began to slowly remove medications to take her out of the coma.
‘However due to brain lesions, it is too soon to know the state she will be in from the damage she has sustained until she awakens. Laura is still in critical condition,’ the crowdfunding page states.
‘She is currently experiencing seizures as an indication of brain injury. She had been in an Intensive Care Unit in Mexico for six days before we were allowed to get her back to the U.S.
‘In the event that she wakes up, it is likely she will need to begin physical therapy and rehabilitation for an unforeseen period of time.’
Her family must now decide whether to move forward with two high-risk surgeries or remove her from life support.
The family hired an attorney, Larry Friedman, who plans to sue Rino Center.