My father is the soul breadwinner of our family!
He suffered a massive stroke on April 14th, 2016!

My mother suffers from epileptic seizures and recently fractured vertebrae in her back while having a seizure!

My name is Gabriel Rodriguez, and the man pictured above is my father, Joe Rodriguez. As you can see, my father is intubated and has been placed in a coma like state. He has suffered a stroke; the amount of blood that was building up inside his skull shifted his brain slightly to the right. Ok, so like I said earlier my name is Gabriel and I’m 15 years old, but sometimes I don’t feel 15. I know with what’s happened to my dad and even to my mom we are in some serious trouble. So I’m throwing out my pride to actually express how serious our situation really is.

For 3 days my father suffered with a bad headache, and like a- tough- guy and sometimes too- proud- of- a- guy he can be, he didn’t complain, he didn’t say anything. We had no idea what he was in such pain. By the time he finally said something, so much bleeding had already occurred. It was around midnight when my father woke my mother from her sleep. That’s when my sister, Alyssa and I awoke, and the ambulance soon arrived. 250 over 130 was my father’s blood pressure. We knew then, this was serious.

One of the biggest issues the doctors were experiencing was that my father has some type of blood disorder which causes his blood to be too thin. As of today, they cannot remove him from intubation nor stop the sedation; and the reason they cannot remove him off of the intubation is because his blood pressure and the pressure inside his skull rise dramatically, causing him to have another stroke. My father had 2 major surgeries to his brain in one day; 2 separate bleeds. The second one was due to them attempting to remove him off of sedation. They had to find where he was bleeding and they did. There’s a tube coming out of his head to help relieve fluid buildup and I’m assuming any blood that may have remained behind. I’ve only seen two pictures of my father since this happened; my mother doesn’t want to worry us, so we haven’t physically seen our father since the emergency room. I placed only this one picture because the other one is quite graphic and I honestly have a hard time even looking at that one. As of now both of his eyes are swollen and part of his skull has been removed. I think this one picture explains how serious my father’s situation really is.

We live paycheck to paycheck; my father was contract labor, no insurance and no backup in case of something like this was to happen. I can’t drive, my sister can’t drive and my mother can’t drive and we have a car note! We can’t make our rent or all the other household bills that come with life. Yes, my mother is going to seek any financial help possible. But in the meantime we will fall so fast we won’t even be able afford to store our furniture. Heck, we just got furniture after having to give up everything because we fell into hard times about 2 years ago. We were unable to pay our rent for a few months and ended up getting asked to move out so they can sell the house. This house was the house my mother grew up in and that my sister and I grew up in most of our lives. We had to rent a 2 bedroom apartment for a year, sharing a bedroom with my sister till we thought we could afford to rent a 3 bedroom house in the same neighborhood we grew up in. I’ve got to figure out how to get a hardship license or something. I just don’t know! What can I do but plead my case to you and hope that you or someone else like you can help my family. If you need proof this is true, I can provide it. My mother can provide it. My family friends can provide it. Don’t hesitate to ask us.

My father is currently at Memorial Hermann (ICU) in the Medical Center - Houston, Texas.

My mother, Pamela, has worked off and on throughout my life. She sadly suffers from epileptic seizures and blood pressure issues. Only a few months ago was she released from the hospital after suffering a seizure in the bathroom; hitting her head so hard she fractured vertebrae in her upper back. So, not only is my father the soul breadwinner but he is also the only licensed driver in the family. They took my mother’s right to drive away when she suffered a suspected seizure while driving, putting our car in the ditch; that happened a year ago or so. She is supposed to be recovering from her serious accident, but obviously in the situation we are in, she can’t rest.

My sister, Alyssa – 17, is that smiley face kid that likes to laugh a lot. Sadly, that early morning when the ambulance arrived it was officially my sister’s birthday. Turning 17 years old and having to watch her father be taken away by ambulance. My sister is autistic and also suffers from the same type of blood disorder our father is experiencing; diagnosed at a young age, she has persevered through some of life’s most difficult challenges. My sister is smart and sassy, and yes of course we can argue like any normal brother and sister do. My sister and I have seen so much when it comes to our parents illnesses. Our mother’s seizure disorder has had a significant impact on our lives. I live in reality, and my reality is; I have to be strong. I have to show strength in this time of crisis. But as of now I have to show my sister everything is going to be ok. I am so proud of her; she’s dealing with this quite well. She amazes me with her strength; I love her deeply.

Please, if you can donate, it is much needed and much appreciated. If you are unable to donate, can you at the very least share our story? I want to show my parents that we can get through this. We can survive this so when dad starts his recovery he doesn’t have to worry. Worrying was one of my father’s biggest problems. I don’t want him to come out of this still having to worry.

Thank you for any interest you may have in our story. Please donate and share.

Gabriel Rodriguez