Heartache at losing ‘sweet daughter’
A HEARTBROKEN father has paid tribute to his “sweet little daughter” after her shock death following surgery complications.
Ileana Campos, 21, was born with congenital heart problem ASD/VSD, which left her with holes in her heart.
The former Cosgrove High School and Guilford Young College student flew to the Royal Melbourne Hospital last month for an operation to close the holes.
Challenges arose following the procedure, and Ileana was “fighting for her life” from the moment she left the theatre room, her father Glenn said.
She died on Tuesday morning.
Mr Campos said Ileana would be dearly missed by her mother Rose, brother Isaac,
sister Isabella and boyfriend John Magbitang.
“She was the most kindhearted and sweetest little daughter, I have zero doubt in my heart that every mother and father she has met on earth has felt a very special way about my daughter Ileana,” he said.
“As for being the big sister to her younger siblings, they were the very best she could ask for and felt every single drop of love coming from her heart and has overfilled our cups made of love.”
Mr Campos said after college, his daughter worked in aged care.
“While working in the industry she decided to take it up a step further and pursue being a nurse,” Mr Campos said. “Those achievements itself made us proud as a whole family.”
Mr Campos said Ileana loved to sing and dance and was a great role model for children at St Paul’s Catholic Church, Bridgewater.
“Being in her condition, she was still very outgoing,” he said. “Her personality was one-of-a-kind, she had all the traits that you could not find from just a normal person.
“She had a very bright future ahead of her. She left a very big mark in our lives.”
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the family pay for a funeral and for Ileana to be brought back to Hobart.