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Last week the David family gained a new Angel. Our brave and loving warrior, Junior (Federico Dayrit David) recently passed away at the age of 17 on Friday, November 15th, 2019. He was admitted into the ICU at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital last November because he was not able to break a fever that lasted over 3 weeks, and to our surprise, he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease called Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In addition to HLH, Junior was diagnosed with C1q Nephropathy, a kidney disease since age 2. He was on the waitlist for a kidney transplant this year, however, HLH took it's course that caused a reprioritization in his health and treatment. When his HLH would flare up, there was a build up of white blood cells that damaged his organs, bone marrow, liver and spleen, in addition to destroying other blood cells. He endured in unsuccessful chemo treatments and had a trial of treatments that ultimately could not stabilize the HLH. He worked with a dedicated team of specialists at UCSF that worked closely with the family through all of the trials to figure out how to survive this disease.
Junior fought a courageous fight for a year that included long hospital stays and trials. His journey was telling of his self-determination to fight with dignity, kindness and love. He never gave up and the days before his passing, he made sure that he spent quality time and communicated with all of those he loved.
As many of you have been reaching out to the family, we want to do something for them as a gesture of support. We are reaching out for financial support for the David family with funeral expenses. Any amount is not too small or big, your donation will surely be appreciated by the family at this time as they prepare for needed funeral arrangements .
About HLH:
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a severe systemic inflammatory syndrome that can be fatal. This syndrome can sometimes occur in normal people with medical problems that can cause a strong activation of the immune system, such as infection or cancer. HLH in these settings is called Secondary HLH. Patients with secondary HLH may also have medical conditions that contribute to the predisposition to HLH, such as rheumatologic diseases or primary immune deficiencies.
This was at Bridges Beach in Santa Cruz per Junior's request to go on family vacation after being hospitalized for 2 months close to almost losing his life in June of this year.
This was taken two weeks ago as Junior was preparing for intubation as his lung function was declining.
In these last few weeks, as many of his organs were struggling, Junior's life was sustained by medication, 24 dialysis, chemo and life support. About Junior:
Junior was born in the Polyclinic Hospital in Concepcion Tarlac in the Philippines. He migrated to the US at the age of 11. He was currently in his Junior Year at Jefferson High School and UCSF's school when he was hospitalized. He loved playing basketball, telling jokes, hanging out with friends and loved eating food-especially fried chicken. He was a patient and loving uncle to his nieces and nephews. He always demonstrated poise, kindness and respect to all those he cross paths with.
Organizer and beneficiary
Alexis David
Beneficiary