Helping Pops

Howdy friends!

 

This is my pops. He recently battled COVID and Pneumonia in the hospital for weeks on respirators. His lungs are 60 percent scarred as a result, as well as a few new conditions.

 

My dad has always been active, and has so many hobbies to boot. I’ve never met some one who has discovered so many joys in life. He’s someone I consider to be satisfied with the simplest things, in the best way possible. Seeing him work on cars and playing soccer was my favorite pastime, next to listening to him play guitar. My dad is the ultimate entertainer, and has some of the best jokes out there.

 

My parents became homeowners once my father became a citizen. They both immigrated from other countries, leaving everything behind, and creating a life for us here. The dream was harder than anyone could imagine, and to this day, inequities hit BIPOC communities harder than any. It’s even worse when they have nothing to their names, and no documentation to accelerate their progress. My parents worked so hard, Pops was continuously denied citizenship from the 1990’s, until 2019, achieving his dream 30 years later. The pandemic touched down, and turned celebration into hardship. Due to the lack of resources on behalf of benefit services, he was ineligible for many things, including health insurance.

 

My mother is disabled, an extremely rare skin condition renders her hands and feet almost incapable of movement. Fun fact: she doesn’t have fingerprints because of it. Social security refuses to recognize Vohwinkels Syndrome as a reason to receive disability pay because of its rarity, so they are in a severe bind.

 

When pops was younger, an accident caused his spleen to rupture. The spleen is responsible for creating antibodies, filtering blood, fighting infections, and storing blood. It is a crucial part to the immune system, and made his battle harder. Due to this, he had to be placed on stronger medications, respiratory machines, and steroids. This has given him diabetes, which he didn’t live with before. He is currently still on medication, oxygen tanks, inhalers, and sadly, diabolically priced insulin.

 

The current prognosis is continued treatment that involves insulin and an inhaler, and weekly visits with a pulmonologist to track his progress. It has been recommended that he does not return to work for at minimum three months. He is the primary of the household, taking care of our mother, and raising our youngest sibling. On top of paying medications and follow ups out of pocket, there are hospital bills, mortgage, and monthly bills. We believe that our goal will cover the costs of treatment & housing for the recommended time period.

 

For those who have met my pops, he’s got one of the most joyful smiles, and a chuckle that can make anyone easily join in. Please help us help our parents. We humbly ask on behalf of them, as they are not the types to ask for help.

 

Any amount is appreciated. Our goal is to cover medication, doctors bills, & anything else that can help ease their minds as they work through these tough times. Please feel free to share this link, anything helps and is truly appreciated. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making it this far.

We wish everyone continuous health, prosperity, and happiness.

 

Con mucho mucho amor,

 

The Portillo Family.