In support of Ernesto, Rosana, and Isaiah

Hi, my name is Brian and I am fundraising for my sister Rosana and her husband Ernesto Ruiz. After welcoming their first child, Isaiah, in January 2021, the next chapter for Rosana and Ernesto was meant to be bright and filled with hope as they embarked on the journey of a growing family. Unfortunately, the joyous moment of welcoming their son was quickly overshadowed when Ernesto suddenly and unexpectedly fell ill in April 2021. After battling what was perceived to be food poisoning, Ernesto was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As you can imagine, the devastation and shock of that news changed their family forever. At the age of 35, Ernesto and Rosana would embark on not only being new parents, but the unpredictable medical journey that comes along with a cancer diagnosis. As the months progressed, bills and expenses began to overwhelm the family due to the challenges and costs of raising a newborn, all while commuting to downtown Toronto from Brampton on almost a daily basis for medical treatment. This resulted in Rosana having to return to work earlier than expected from maternity leave. Ernesto continued to battle the cancer every day with the support of Rosana and Isaiah, however, the cancer continued to spread to his liver despite continued chemotherapy treatments. After a grueling year, Ernesto grew weaker due to the continuous trauma of chemotherapy amongst the devastation and havoc caused by the unrelenting pancreatic cancer. As Rosana tried to balance working, being a new mother, managing and transporting Ernesto’s medical appointments, and taking on more of a caregiving role for Ernesto, Rosana eventually had to make the hard decision to go on compassionate leave from work. She needed to be present for Ernesto and Isaiah as the prognosis became bleaker with each passing day.

As with all governmental benefits (and despite the tragic and unfortunate circumstance with Ernesto’s health), the delays in processing the benefits have shown just how flawed the system is to those who desperately need support in trying times. It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to YOU and ask you to help us support Ernesto, Rosana, and Isaiah in their time of need. With the continued expenses of commuting to Toronto on a daily basis, paying for parking, and seeking out alternative treatment options due to the continued brutalization of chemotherapy on Ernesto’s body, my sister and brother-in-law are greatly in need of support. Amongst these trying times in finding monetary support for the medical expenses, it is also important to emphasize that they are also new parents, which I’m sure many of you can relate to and know how expensive and exhausting parenthood can be on it’s own let alone in conjunction with battling a terminal illness. It has been a tough road and long fight for Ernesto and Rosana, but we continue to pray and support them in many ways. Please help us in continuing to build support for them. Ernesto continues to fight to see his son grow up, please help us in supporting him making that a reality. Thank you for your time. God bless.