Diego's mom Maria lives in Venezuela. This week, she was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer... she likely has months to live. Maria urgently needs emergency surgery and palliative chemotherapy/care to make her remaining life a little more comfortable. And we want to bring Diego home to his mum after 10 years of being separated by the Venezuelan crisis, so they can spend some of her final time together. In Venezuela's collapsed system, healthcare is paid in black-market US Dollars, making it unimaginably unaffordable.

Diego is one of those rare people who radiates kindness and positivity despite everything life has thrown at him. Ten years ago, when Venezuela's economy collapsed, he was studying aviation engineering but realized his family wasn't going to make it through the crisis. He decided to leave everything behind - his country, family, friends, education, and his future dreams - to find work in another country to support them. Diego arrived in Colombia with one outfit and a backpack with a plan to sleep on the streets until he could find work; for three years, he worked 12-hour days without a single day off, washing dishes and peeling potatoes - a far cry from his engineering dreams. Eventually he found his way back to professional salsa dancing and against all odds built an incredible career as both an internationally competitive dancer and beloved teacher to many around the world.

Diego's mom, Maria was born in 1970 to a modest farming family. She grew up in the countryside of rural Venezuela, helping to raise 7 younger siblings. She became a single mother to Diego and his little brother - the two sons she adores but was separated from for years, with Diego in Colombia and his brother in Mexico. She worked as a seamstress while putting herself through school during Venezuela's hardest years. This year, at 54 years old, she finally got a stable government job and could breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as life got more stable for both Maria and Diego, they received this sudden diagnosis. Both Maria and Diego have worked hard against life circumstances that no one should have to face, separated by the economic collapse of their country for a decade. We can't change Maria's terminal diagnosis, but at the very least, we can give her the gift of peace and comfort during her final months, surrounded by the love of her family. We want to raise funds to cover all of the upcoming medical, palliative, and related costs so that Maria and her family can focus on being together instead of making physically and emotionally painful choices due to money.

Diego is not one to ask for help, so I (his girfriend) am writing this as his family is currently making forced choices to forego various urgent medical procedures due to the costs involved.

Thank you for giving the gift of peace and family to Maria. And for helping to bring Diego home to his mum.

Please consider sharing to those who might want to contribute.

#BringDiegoHome #PeacefulGoodbye