Ian's Journey for a Healthier Future

Hi everyone.

My name is Andrea Retamar and I started this GoFundMe with the intention of raising money to help out my baby brother Ian Retamar during a turbulent time related to his health.

Ian has navigated asthma for his entire life, but towards the end of the summer he began having difficulty breathing. In this day and age it's very common for us to brush things off, especially when it comes to health as a lot of us have outrageous co-pays or insurance policies that don't always cover the things we need.

When it finally became too much to handle, he went to urgent care and was referred directly to the ER. They admitted him with pneumonia and he spent a week being given antibiotics with little to no change in his status. Apparently a case of strep had also managed to get into his lungs, and this combination left his lungs inflamed and breathing incredibly labored.

As of the new year, they haven't been able to solve this for him. That leaves him with a blanket diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease until they can accurately pinpoint what's happening. As of now, he is mostly confined to his bed with an oxygen machine. Benefits from work only last so long, and we all know that other avenues of assistance are usually an incredibly long process. He is currently waiting on a referral to a transplant center in Pittsburgh.

So that leaves you, our community, and his friends and family. The waiting game for anything healthcare related is long and arduous. Anything you can do to help is so greatly appreciated.

Ian would give the world to alleviate the troubles of the people around him, but right now we need to do that for him. He can't pour from an empty cup, and getting him back on his feet so he can continue being the best brother, uncle, friend, and partner that anyone could ask for is of the utmost priority.

If you made it to this point, thank you. Thank you for hearing us out, and thank you for doing whatever you can to restore the carefree, social, and animated spirit of someone who is loved by so many.