In December of 2008, my oldest brother Ben (a.k.a. Boy) journeyed across the world to find work in the United States. He waited in the Philippines for eighteen years for INS to approve his green card, and when he finally got the notice, it was bittersweet. He made the hard call to leave his wife, his three young girls at one, four, and nine years old, plus seven older children from his previous marriage.
For my brother, coming to the U.S. was the first step in fulfilling his dreams: to be able to provide a happy, normal life for his young family, to give his daughters a good education and opportunities, to provide for his other children and grandchildren and most importantly, to one day be reunited with his family in the United States.
Life in the Philippines was full of trials for him and his family, but he always found a way to make ends meet. His strong faith, positive attitude, and love of life has helped him overcome many of the challenges he has faced.
His first two years in the U.S. were tough. Ben came during the Great Recession of 2008 and had a hard time finding a stable job. He moved to Mississippi and worked at a casino, then got a job on an oil rig. For many years, his job at the rig gave him consistent income to provide for his family back in the Philippines. However, in 2015, after the price of oil crashed, he lost his job and stability, and moved back in with his family in Massachusetts. He recognized that he needed to continue to provide for his family, so he began driving for Uber as his primary source of income.
Then came a memorable day in 2016, Ben had applied and taken his citizenship test. I remember the ecstatic look on this face when he learned he had passed. After working so hard, he was happy, truly happy he was that he would soon be able to bring his family here. It has been a struggle for him being so far from his loved ones, thankfully technology like Skype and Facebook allowed him to stay connected with them every day and stay motivated. He called and announced he was going to be a U.S. citizen; he was one step closer to fulfilling his dream!
Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned. At the end of August 2018, he moved back to Mississippi to see if he can get his job back at the oil rig, however, it was put on the back burner as he failed his medical exam. Although things didn’t go as planned, he remained in Mississippi so he could take care of his health and re-apply for the job.
It was in October 2018 that I noticed he was losing weight. He assured me it was due to stress, but the weight loss was so significant I knew it couldn’t be true. The first week of March 2019, something dreadful happened. He started feeling pain in his stomach and around his back. At the doctor's, they discovered a huge mass in his abdomen. Our family flew him back to MA so that he could see a specialist and be with his siblings. He was hospitalized at Beth Israel for one week. After a series of different tests, Ben was diagnosed with Stage 3 Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects connective tissue. We were told that his cancer is pretty aggressive.
He was started on radiation a week ago and will continue on for the next five weeks. He will then undergo surgery to remove the mass from his abdomen. The treatment is incredibly taxing, and we are all praying for remission!
Our family is supporting him in every way we can, but we need your help! We are incredibly grateful that we have access to healthcare and a team of expert clinicians to support my brother in Boston. However, as many have experienced, medical care in the United States extremely expensive and unsustainable. No family member, yours or mine, should ever have to forgo treatment because of cost.
Our family would be eternally grateful for your support as we help Ben kick cancer! All of us want to see the happy day when his wife and young daughters will be reunited with him in the United States. We also pray that he will one day have the strength to once again visit his children and grandchildren in the Philippines. We would be forever thankful for any support you can show Ben and our family. 
THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Tess