Support Ausubel Pichardo & Family
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Our friend Ausubel Pichardo is a beautiful, strong, and hard-working 23- year-old young man. He is a student at UMass Dartmouth, and a specialist in water resources trained by the U.S. Army. He is a proud member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. On Christmas day he left for Nigeria, where he stayed for 2 weeks, to help a non-profit with important well-digging work. Ausubel was very happy helping bring water to the local community. He returned to the U.S. and his home in Lawrence, MA, on January 10th.
A week later Ausubel started feeling ill. He was unknowingly experiencing the symptoms of malaria. By the time he went to the hospital, he was much debilitated. In addition to the malaria, he was suffering from ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). Ausubel was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Lawrence General Hospital right away, in critical condition. On Thursday evening, while still in Lawrence, he was sedated and put on a breathing tube.
After a full day waiting for a bed in Boston, on Saturday (1/24) Ausubel was transferred from Lawrence General Hospital to Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He was brought to Tufts Medical Center with the hope that they would be able to "clean" his lungs. As soon as he arrived at the hospital, several forms of conventional treatment were tried, but all failed. They then got mom's permission to perform a very risky procedure that would elevate his chances of survival from 20% to 60%. Ten different medical doctors were brought in in the middle of the snowy night to do this procedure. Ausubel received a "lung by-pass machine" called ECMO. This machine is doing the breathing for him. The doctor said that "we are hoping that this therapy will help until his lungs heal." Since this procedure, Ausubel has been stable, which is the best we can hope for at this time, according to the medical team. They tell us that the improvements we are hoping to see will not be apparent until weeks from now.
Ausubel remains in very critical condition at Tufts Hospital, with malaria still in his system. His mother and friends have remained by his side and his sister, Raquel, is trying to get an emergeny visa to travel from Santo Domingo, DR, to be with her family.
You can stay updated on Ausubel's condition by e-mailing [email redacted] with the subject "Ausubel" to be added to the update e-mail list.
During this very difficult time, it is imperative that monetary needs are the last thing on Ausubel's mother's mind. She is out of work on un-paid leave and will need help affording rent, electricity, insurance, ect. To make matters worse, medical costs are extremely high (estimated: $5,000 then 20% of remaining bills). This is an unfathomable cost for a humanitarian like Ausubel, who gave away his only winter coat this year to someone he thought needed it more than him. He would most likely be upset to even see this page because he would argue that other people need this money more than him, that's just the way he is.
If you were in trouble, Ausubel would certainly give you the clothes off of his back if you needed it. Now, he needs our positivity and support more than ever. Any donation could make life a little easier for our Ausubel and his family. We thank you so much for your time and attention!
Sending love, positivity, and warmth to all of Ausubel's friends and family! We hope he gets well soon!
A week later Ausubel started feeling ill. He was unknowingly experiencing the symptoms of malaria. By the time he went to the hospital, he was much debilitated. In addition to the malaria, he was suffering from ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). Ausubel was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Lawrence General Hospital right away, in critical condition. On Thursday evening, while still in Lawrence, he was sedated and put on a breathing tube.
After a full day waiting for a bed in Boston, on Saturday (1/24) Ausubel was transferred from Lawrence General Hospital to Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He was brought to Tufts Medical Center with the hope that they would be able to "clean" his lungs. As soon as he arrived at the hospital, several forms of conventional treatment were tried, but all failed. They then got mom's permission to perform a very risky procedure that would elevate his chances of survival from 20% to 60%. Ten different medical doctors were brought in in the middle of the snowy night to do this procedure. Ausubel received a "lung by-pass machine" called ECMO. This machine is doing the breathing for him. The doctor said that "we are hoping that this therapy will help until his lungs heal." Since this procedure, Ausubel has been stable, which is the best we can hope for at this time, according to the medical team. They tell us that the improvements we are hoping to see will not be apparent until weeks from now.
Ausubel remains in very critical condition at Tufts Hospital, with malaria still in his system. His mother and friends have remained by his side and his sister, Raquel, is trying to get an emergeny visa to travel from Santo Domingo, DR, to be with her family.
You can stay updated on Ausubel's condition by e-mailing [email redacted] with the subject "Ausubel" to be added to the update e-mail list.
During this very difficult time, it is imperative that monetary needs are the last thing on Ausubel's mother's mind. She is out of work on un-paid leave and will need help affording rent, electricity, insurance, ect. To make matters worse, medical costs are extremely high (estimated: $5,000 then 20% of remaining bills). This is an unfathomable cost for a humanitarian like Ausubel, who gave away his only winter coat this year to someone he thought needed it more than him. He would most likely be upset to even see this page because he would argue that other people need this money more than him, that's just the way he is.
If you were in trouble, Ausubel would certainly give you the clothes off of his back if you needed it. Now, he needs our positivity and support more than ever. Any donation could make life a little easier for our Ausubel and his family. We thank you so much for your time and attention!
Sending love, positivity, and warmth to all of Ausubel's friends and family! We hope he gets well soon!
Organizer
Erin Cournoyer
Organizer
Boston, MA
