HOUSTON – “We knew it was going to be a battle, but he from the beginning, warrior. Warrior, big time,” Richard Mostacci’s mother, Susie Garcia said.
KPRC2 Reporter Corley Peel sat down with Mostacci’s family. They said from the moment the 42-year-old father was diagnosed with Lupus, they stood by his side.
The disease impacted Mostacci’s liver. He joined the waitlist for a Liver transplant at Memorial Hermann in 2021.
In November 2022, Susie said her son went to the hospital for 10 days, where he was told he was at the top of the waitlist and up for a transplant.
“We were waiting in the hospital, and it was around Thanksgiving, and they said, you know, you can’t wait here any longer. So, we’re sending you home,” Garcia said.
The family continued to wait for the transplant. By January 2023, loved ones said Mostacci was taken off the waitlist and told he was too weak for a transplant. The following month, he passed away.
“I remember being in the hospital with him and the doctors came in and he was crying because he wanted to live,” Mostacci’s daughter, Emma Mostacci said. “He wanted to keep fighting.”
A year after Mostacci’s death, his family learned his doctor, Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr., is accused of manipulating donor criteria. The investigation forced Memorial Hermann to voluntarily inactivate liver and kidney transplant programs.
Mostacci’s family is now demanding answers regarding what happened in between the time he was told he was eligible for transplant, to ultimately being denied.
Along with two other families, Mostacci’s family has filed an application for a temporary restraining order and injunction against Dr. Bynon.
The request for the temporary restraining order says there’s significant concern that Dr. Bynon was “improperly excluding patients,” including their family members, from receiving a liver transplant and depriving them of lifesaving care.
The families are asking the court to move quickly and make sure all evidence is preserved so it cannot be destroyed. Garcia vividly remembers her interactions with Bynon in the hospital while her son was in a coma.
“The doctor came in and he looked over at my son. He told me, ‘You need to get your family together.’ And I said, ‘No, he’s strong. He’s going to pull through this. And with his coffee cup in hand, he looked over at my son and he says, ‘I’ve seen a lot of cases like this. He’s not going to pull through,’” Garcia said.
KPRC 2 stopped by Bynon’s home for comment, and called his phone, but no one answered.
Family members said Mostacci was an ambitious father who was known for his famous seasoning at BBQ cookoffs.
“It hurts. He could have been saved and he could have wanted to see me, my brother, grow up,” Emma Mostacci said.
KPRC2 reached out to Memorial Hermann about the court filings. The Hospital said it cannot comment on the matter. Mostacci’s attorney, Tom Hastings, said there will be a hearing Thursday at 10:am where the judge will decide if the temporary restraining order should be granted.