Action for Arnol

My name is Nancy Bell, founder of the volunteer run nonprofit organization Mayor Potencial  that works to serve those in need in Honduras. 


I am writing because our dear friend Arnol Isaac Hernandez Valle passed away Sunday May 12th in Peru surrounded by his mother, neighbors and friends after he traveled from rural El Rodeito, Honduras to Tarapoto, Peru to receive treatment for cancer back in March 1st. Now Amelia (his mother) needs help covering the cost of getting him back to Honduras, in addition to covering the cost of his treatments. 



Arnol and his mother wished to stay in Peru for two months of treatment with the hope that the cancer would stop spreading to his brain. Arnol’s cancer treatments cost $165 per visit, and $1,155 per month. We were fundraising to cover the cost of their stay in Peru, but we now need to cover the costs associated with bringing Arnol home.

To be transparent about how we arrived at the $6,449 donation goal, we have detailed all donations and expenses that went into Arnol and Amelia's trip to Peru in the following google sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I-gEncAK6wWdPdB56xg8Pfp1vmCw_M2Wwq9jxwlfKD4/edit?usp=sharing

To help manage expenses, we have managed to negotiate a delayed payment to those who provided treatment for Arnol. We are fundraising to meet the payment obligations.


~~~~~~~~~ARNOL'S JOURNEY

At age 18, Arnol was diagnosed with a rare cancer, fusiform cell sarcoma, for the second time on November 20, 2018. The first time he was diagnosed, Arnol was 14 years old. After suffering from severe headaches, Arnol was rushed to a hospital in Tegucigalpa after a long five-hour bus ride from rural El Rodeito. At the hospital, it was discovered that Arnol had a cyst in his head. To prevent the spread of the cancer, he was provided chemo and radiation therapy and later underwent surgery to remove part of the tumor. Arnol lost function in one eye as a result of the surgery. 

Arnol’s cancer went into remission and he was doing well. He gained weight, built a chicken coop with the help of a sponsor, and started a small chicken business to help support his family. He dreamed of going back to school, once a high school was built in his beloved home town.

After the recent second diagnosis, Arnol’s doctors did not offer him any treatment. Instead, they gave him a prescription for pain medication and sent him home. Currently, the cancer has spread from his head into his nose, ear, and brain. 

Although he was unable to receive treatment in Honduras, Arnol and his family had not given up hope! With sponsorship from anonymous donors, he traveled with his mother and one of Mayor Potencial’s volunteers to Peru, where he obtained ozone and vitamin C treatments at the clinic in Tarapoto. His family hoped this would at least stop the advance of the cancer in his brain.

Arnol’s treatment cost approximately $1200/month, and his holistic care provider that was working with him cost an additional $1500/month. For Arnol and his mother, the stay in Peru cost them $680/month (Rent cost $150, food $300, transportation $200, and internet/phone cost $30). 

Sadly, Arnol’s cancer was terminal and continued to grow. Volunteers at Mayor Potencial continuously applied to other hospitals to find conventional treatment for his rapidly progressing cancer. Due to the size of the tumor, no one wanted to take a chance on Arnol. 


Photo taken during the medical brigade in Feb. 2019. Mayor Potencial and Cape Cares partnered together for this medical brigade and they stopped by to see Arnol and provide some medications such a nasal spray for congestion.

Fees:
The GoFundMe platform is free.  However they charge a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation that  allows for credit card processing. 

You can also mail checks or send payment via paypal selecting the friends option at [email redacted] on the comments please write for Arnol.  We also accept venmo@mayorpotencial

To mail checks please make the check payable to Mayor Potencial and in the memo line write Arnol and mail to:
Mayor Potencial
Attn Nancy Bell
P.O. BOX 102
Marathon NY 13803

Thank you for your support!

For further information on our volunteer run organization please visit our website: https://www.mayorpotencial.org/


~~~~~~~~~Past Updates

Feb. 22, 2019

Thanks to our donors, our friend Arnol was able to afford to complete MRI scans to fully analyze his condition. The MRI scans were a requirement for the hospital applications we were completing. 


March 12, 2019

Arnol has begun his vitamin C and ozone therapy to treat his illness. He also receives acupuncture and medicinal herbs for the pain. Arnol reports to feel much better after receiving the treatments. 



March 18, 2019

Though the vitamin C and ozone treatments are helping Arnol regain his strength, he can no longer breathe through his nose due to the growing tumor. He has also been fighting an infection in his nasal passages and he has lost his appetite. The lack of appetite has impacted his health as he struggles to swallow solids. 


March 21, 2019

Arnol celebrated his belated 19th birthday. This small birthday celebration brought a lot of joy to Arnol. Unfortunately, Mayor Potencial’s volunteer had to return back to Honduras, so now only Amelia and Arnol are in Peru.




March 28, 2019

Thanks to our donors we were able to get Arnol a juicer. With the juicer he is able to get the nutrients he needs from fruits and vegetables. He is still struggling to swallow and doesn’t have an appetite but Amelia is helping him eat and keeping him motivated.


April 4th, 2019

Arnol’s pain has increased. His headaches have become unbearable. His eye inflammation has expanded. His eye tears up alot and he is not able to close it when sleeping anymore. He continues to eat but his appetite is completely gone. The juicer seems to help. Due to the loss of appetite he lost a lot of weight, and is not able to walk without support.  He says he feels better right after the vitamin C and ozone treatments. 



April 5, 2019

We continue to apply to hospitals but given Arnol’s condition we have been unable to find a hospital willing to take him on. The MP team in honduras is looking for any clinic that could provide similar holistic treatment.  If Arnol and his mother return to Honduras, it will be very difficult to find treatment, but staying in Peru is difficult. Arnol is trying to stay positive as he and his mother decide on what to do next.