Omar Tortotella 6/24/80 - 4/10/16

Many of you have had the opportunity to meet Omar Tortorella over the years, but for those of you who do not know Omar, he is my sister’s boyfriend of 13 years.  Although not married, I consider Omar my brother-in-law.  Happy, positive, optimistic, full of zest, energy, and life!  

Omar began to experience some pain in May of 2015.  It was minor pain so he chalked it up to be possibly acid reflux or ulcers.  You see, Omar was a body builder, so in his mind, everything was going to be ok.   He was treating his pain with various supplements and holistic remedies, but to no avail.  As time went on, so did the pain.  The pain intensified and became quite unbearable.  Omar did not have health insurance, so that added some weight to prolong the doctor visit(s). 

Omar applied for Medicaid in late December and received his health benefits on 2/1/16.  Omar went to see a series of doctors and had quite a bit of testing done.  The family would ask Lauren; “how is Omar?” and Lauren would casually tell us, "we are still waiting…" meanwhile, what Lauren wasn’t telling us was that Omar was admitted to Holy Name Hospital and diagnosed on with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer as it has spread to his liver, lungs, and spleen. Lauren and Omar privately carried this burden until last Saturday, 2/28.  That is when she shared it with the family.   

Because of the severity of the cancer, Omar is inoperable nor is he a candidate for radiation.  He has had 3 rounds of chemo thus far, however there has been no progression.  Omar’s mother, Ana and my sister do not leave his side.  I go to the hospital every morning for an hour or two after I take Julia to school, then head back after I put Julia to bed and stay till about midnight. 

Omar has asked me to be his advocate and speak to the doctors and nurses and help with him with the information.  You all know me – I am strong – I fix things.  But this, this I cannot fix.  So I will do whatever I can, the best I can, for Omar and Lauren during this extreamly difficult time.

In one week’s time, this past week, Omar has suffered 5 strokes along with a pretty significant one this morning. His speech is very slow and slurred and it is taking him a bit longer to receive and process information. 

There is no "light" way to say this; Omar is terminal.  At this time, they are doing whatever they can to make him as comfortable as possible.  Omar is fighting.  And he has fought as hard as he could, but at this juncture, there isn’t much more the medical professionals can do except to make him as comfortable as possible.  

The doctors give him a week or 2 therefore funds are needed rather quickly.  

It is very difficult for me to ask for donations, and I know how difficult it is for those to donate, espcailly when you haven't had the opportunity to meet Omar, but I am reaching out to you all because we need your help.  

Please pray for Omar as well as my sister, Lauren, and his mother, Ana.  Please donate as little or as much as you can to help with the inevitable upcoming costs; whatever you can donate will help as there is no life insurance policy or enough savings.  I mean, they were young, no kids... who plans for this?  

I along with the family will be eternally grateful.  So, we thank you in advance for any help you are comfortable donating. 

I will provide updates each day to let you know how things are going. 

Thank you for listening. 

Below are pictures of Omar over the summer of 2015... this is how Omar wants everyone to remember him.