Alex Van Duyvendyk is in need of support as she and her family prepare to travel to Seattle for a much needed heart surgery. 

A aims to raise over $50,000 to help with costs. 

The wife, mom and emergency doctor in Kelowna is scheduled in for her fourth surgery in as many years on Aug. 16. 

The first surgery was in 2020, an open-heart surgery for an emergency valve replacement. Van Duyvendyk then needed a full knee replacement before receiving a second open-heart surgery to bypass a closed coronary artery. 

According to the fundraiser page, Canadian physicians have been unable to open the artery. 

After a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona in June, Van Dyvendyk was referred to a Dr. Lombardi in Seattle and was told this physician has a 90 per cent chance of reopening the closed coronary artery causing chest pain and shortness of breath.

As the procedure will be taking place in the U.S., the family still awaits news on health coverage for the life-saving surgery. 

The estimated cost of the surgery is $120,000, above the approximately $50,000 spent on the visit to the Mayo Clinic. 

On top of procedure costs, Van Duyvendyk has been unable to work and her husband has stayed home to help care for their seven-month-old daughter. 

In just two days the online fundraiser has earned over $49,000 to support the Van Dyvendyks.