Coach Dan's Battle

Summer vacation is something that every family looks forward to every year but for the Cortes Family, this summer took a turn for the worst. Our family beat the odds when our beautiful 6 year old sister, Maya defeated cancer 3 years ago.  With medical bills and household responsibilities, a vacation was simply not in our plans until now.  My parents spent 3 years paying off all of my sister's medical bills and were so excited to finally take a vacation that was long overdue. We were also celebrating my dad's 40th birthday.

Unfortunately our family vacation was cut short when 2 days into our stay in Cancun my dad fell ill. Upon our return to the U.S. he was rushed to the emergency room with severe back pain; he was released with instructions to see a chiropractor.  Two weeks later on August 8th he suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and was transported to the hospital.  Multiple tests were performed, during this process doctors also discovered that his body was fighting an infection that affected his heart which ultimately entered his bloodstream and then spread to his brain, colon and spine.  He is currently under the care of a neurologist, cardiologist, infection disease specialist and neurosurgeon.

 On Sunday, August 13th my dad's condition became more complicated when he began to suffer from multiple seizures.  He was rushed into surgery; he first underwent a craniotomy where they removed the left side of his cranium. Shortly after, the second team of surgeons went in to remove the infected vessel in his brain.  Due to the successful outcome of the procedure the medical team saw signs of improvements. They all agreed that he would be a candidate for a tracheotomy. After the tracheotomy his charge nurse noticed unusual pupil dilation along with other abnormal symptoms. Ultimately, the situation developed into a matter of life and death. Based on his prognosis at that time our family was advised that the possibility of survival was unlikely…but my dad didn’t give up and fought his way back to us after undergoing two emergency craniotomy revisions. After meeting with his medical team the following day, the neurosurgeon sat down with us to explain or should I say try to explain what he had experienced the previous day during the surgery. He paused, and said that in his many years of practice, he had never seen a patient pull through from such a dire condition. He said what happened in the operating room was something beyond his explanation. 

Today, two weeks later, our dad's condition remains critical and is expected to be hospitalized for several months.  Due to these unforeseen circumstances my mom Denise  has to juggle between being at the hospital and attending to their 3 kids.  This situation is not allowing her to work and unfortunately will no longer be receiving an income.

I would love to share a little inside about my dad. He is one of the  most caring and compassionate people you will ever meet. He is not only a father to us, his kids, but he is involved in and looked up to by so many other children in the community. He is a volunteer for the Durango soccer league in Henderson as a full time coach, and also can be caught hanging out at Dance Zone with his little girl dancing away, or running up and down the streets with the kids playing catch, football, riding bicycles and almost any activity you can think of. If you were to walk around our current or previous neighborhood and ask around, he knew everyone and you would have a very hard time finding someone that didn't love the energy and friendly personality that he has. I could go on and on about how amazing he is, but hopefully when he wakes up you will get a chance to experience him yourself if you have not already had the chance to.

These donations will help my family pay for their monthly living expenses and help me care for my younger siblings during the time that my parents are incapable of providing.  My family and I would like to thank you in advance for all of your continued prayers and generosity.