Our story
Vicente Gonzales was diagnosed with cancer in October 2015. He has undergone 6 months of chemo and several surgeries. Hospital bills are $500,000+ and counting. We have started this fund to help them with insurance and other related costs.
Our story (with some details)
I am Jim Joyce and family friend to Orlando, Suzy and Vicente Gonzales. I have known Lando since I was 7 and watched him, Suzy and Vicente come together as a loving family.
When i found out about Vicente's illness it was mid-October 2015. Prior to that Vicente had several month's of stomach pain and it was treated as strep and other common ailments. The tests that ultimately confirmed his condition as cancer were done in October the day after Lando, Suzy and Vicente had made an offer on their first home.
This cancer is particularly ugly. The tumor was a large one and located near Vicente's stomach and kidney. The pain he had experienced for months was the pressure of this growth pressing on Vicente's internally.
In the few weeks between his diagnosis and the follow up exam, the tumor grew. It looked very aggressive and had to be treated that way.
Vicente and family started chemo-therapy almost immediately. They would be in the hospital for 5 days, then back in two weeks for another 2, month after month. The early days were extremely stressful and particularly miserable for Vicente. Cancer treatment is invasive and painful, particularly on a 6 year old boy.
Shortly after treatment began, his hair fell out. Vicente would not eat and would not make eye contact with adults. His mouth developed sores from the chemicals and everything tasted bad to him. Eating a french-fry was a gift, a smile was a rarity and hope seemed far off.
But the three pressed on.
2 months after treatment had started and right before Christmas, Lando, Suzy and Vicente were compelled to move to a new apartment because their existing building had been sold. The dream home they wanted would have to wait as the primary focus was Vicente's proximity to the hospital and comfort during treatment.
After some time, Vicente started to eat. A few fries here, a chicken nugget there. I came to know his McDonalds order well: "Chicken nugget happy meal, boys toy, burger, no pickle." The routine of the treatments set-in, his coping mechanism developed and he started to adjust. His eye contact with adults even returned.
On March 9, after 4 months of continuous treatment his tumor had shrunk to the point that he was able to have surgery and remove it. The surgery left a large scar on his abdomen with too many stitches to count. 10 days later the chemo treatments resumed, this time coupled with radiation. Vicente has been a real champ through all this.
The fight is ongoing.
Why do we need these funds?
Lando and Suzy had saved money for the down payment on their first home. The home purchase was cancelled and these funds have gone to hospital bills, medical support costs and other expenses associated with their struggle. The last total of their medical bills was $500,000+
I am asking everyone to help them by donating funds to assist with medical expenses.