Back on my feet - Anthony Quispe

Miami Beach High School Hi Tide Alumni and friends and family, we have a good man down and his family needs our help! Anthony Quispe, 51, who attended Beach High with the class of ‘87, is in a dire state. His troubles began December 2017 when he noticed a little bruise on the bottom of his ankle. It turned out to be a diabetic foot ulcer. Anthony has been in hospitals and rehabilitation centers since then. University of Miami Medical Center Dr. Baotram Tran saved his leg from amputation. He has Type 2 diabetes, End-Stage Kidney Disease, pneumonia and is on dialysis. Anthony needs a kidney transplant but can’t get on the transplant list until an infection in his foot heals. He needs to rehabilitate his ankle so he can walk normally and start working again. He has worked in restaurant management and deliveries at Thai House II on 163 St. and Big Slicks Deli on W. Dixie Highway, both in North Miami Beach. He lost his 2000 Dodge Caravan recently. His family has been struggling to survive while he has been in the hospital. They have squeezed into cheap motel rooms and sometimes even slept in their 2003 Mitsubishi Galant. They also struggle to pay for gas for the car and for food to eat. The family owned their own homes before and later lived in an apartment until they couldn’t afford the rent. Anthony’s wife, Nancy Ortiz, 54, worked at Big Slicks Deli until it was sold and went out of business recently. She struggles to support, her daughters, Jennifer, 19, Cynthia, 17, and granddaughters, Isabella Quintana, 7, Jasmine Quintana, 5, and Chloe Quintana, 3. “I just want to get stable again and get on my own two feet,” Anthony said from his room at Crystal Bay Nursing Center and Rehabilitation in North Miami Beach. “I like to work. I thank God my kids aren’t troublemakers. Even with all this going on they are still focused on school.” His daughter, Jennifer, is focusing on ministry studies at Trinity College in Hollywood, Fl. and works at T.J. Maxx. The family attends Christ Centered Church on Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura, Fl. Anthony’s other daughter, Cynthia, attends Miami-Dade College’s Wolfson Campus and is studying Computer and Information Technology. Nancy and Anthony’s granddaughters have big goals too. Isabella wants to study ballet and Jasmine dreams of becoming a doctor. “She’s always asking me how the dialysis machine works,” Anthony said. Doctors removed part of Anthony’s left ankle and he underwent reconstructive surgery. “I don’t want Medicaid or Social Security,” Anthony said. “I want to stand on my own two feet, literally.” We can help Anthony and his family get back on their feet by contributing money so they can move into a new apartment and have stable living conditions. Anthony, who has an uneven gait, will be discharged from the rehabilitation center in four days. He will begin therapy to begin walking normally again. He expects that should take 60 days and he will be able to work again. Anthony is waiting to hear whether he will qualify for government assistance for his rehabilitation. He is receiving help from Medicaid but his family is struggling to survive. He wants to go back to school to study Computer and Information Technology and work in hospitals.


This family truly needs your help. Anything will Help.

Thank you so much.