Emilio & his battle with nephrotic syndrome

Hi, my name is Samantha and I’m fundraising for Emilio AKA Milli, Melo, Mills- the little boy who made me an auntie and for his dad, my big brother, Carlos.

As of June 2023, Milli is now on the national organ transplant list and will begin dialysis treatment next week. My brother and Emilio have been at the hospital for 2 weeks, they have about 10 more days left there before he is to be discharged.

My brother has to fund these road trips to Seattle- paying for gas, food, etc. All the while he is forced to miss work and his college classes, sometimes for multiple days in a row when it's an unplanned trip to the hospital due to an emergency.

My goal with this fundraising is to help elevate some of the financial stress that comes from missing consecutive days of work, traveling for medical care, and any other expenditures that might emerge as Emilio begins dialysis.

Summary of Emilio’s journey navigating Nephrotic Syndrome-

Milli is 14 years old now but his journey with Nephrotic Syndrome began when he was just a year old. The first time he was hospitalized, the doctors at our local hospital immediately recognized it was something that they were not equipped to treat him for. My brother & Milli were then transported by helicopter, to Seattle Children’s Hospital for his first but not last stay with them.

He was later diagnosed with a rare, genetic kidney disorder: Nephrotic Syndrome.

In the years since then, he has taken his medications and followed the doctors orders. Despite doing this, he has still been hospitalized on several occasions when his body stops responding to certain medications, or when his eyes swell shut from all the fluid retention that this disorder causes.

Emilio has to be treated in Seattle, a 3.5 hr. drive from where they live in Kennewick.

For those of you who are willing and able to donate to Emilio’s medical funds, I speak for the rest of my family when I say we are truly grateful from the bottom of our hearts and every dollar helps.

With love,

Samantha