Fund Life-Saving Surgery for Ronald Chinchilla

My name is Jonathan Buckland, and I'm fundraising for the life-saving surgery needed by my friend, Ronald "Ron" Chinchilla. Ron is suffering tremendously and is in dire need of a nasal surgery, after having sustained a severely broken nose, followed by mold and bacterial infections in his sinuses that have resulted in the sinking of the bridge of his nose, loss of 50% of his hearing in his left ear, perforation of his nasal septum, and nearly constant, recurring pain and frequent trips to urgent care in effort to get the medication needed to relieve his symptoms, but, after seeing 5 different doctors in the past year, it has been concluded by his doctors that surgery is his only option to halt the deterioration of his health, relieve his suffering, and repair the damage. He has been warned that his condition is life-threatening and that, without the necessary nasal surgery, he is likely to lose the remainder of his hearing, and his vision, and that his unabated infections will ultimately spread to his brain. He will also require a second surgery - a rhinoplasty - following the nasal surgery.

I met Ron 23 years ago, he was a friend of my ex-wife and her friends from high school. Our shared interests included a love for the beach, barbeques, and the Miami Dolphins, and his love of life, kindheartedness, and sense of humor led us to become fast friends. One thing I recall about that period of time was that Ron devoted a lot of time to helping others, and was always collecting toys and clothing for children, which he would donate to local charities or less fortunate people he knew personally. I loved that about him, and wondered where he developed his kindness and dedication to helping those in need.

In those early days of our friendship, Ron was working on earning a business degree from Florida International University, where he co-founded the International Business Honor Society. He got me going with him, on a regular basis, to Miami Dolphins football games, and we got together, when time permitted, for barbeques at the beach with friends. At some point, I learned that, in 1989, Ron's stepfather murdered his mother, at a women's clinic in California where she was temporarily residing with Ron and his infant half-brother. Ron was 15 years old. Her murder was reported in the Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-23-me-534-story.html

After the loss of his mother, Ron was relocated to Miami, Florida, where he had an uncle who took him in for the remaining years of his minority. We were in our 20's when we met, and Ron was an independent, happy-go-lucky guy; he earned his college degrees in international business and business management, graduating magna cum laude; adopted a boxer he loved like his own child; and was in and out of a couple of years-long relationships that seemed to have left him no worse for wear. He got a job as a banker and drove a Mercedes, and he served, for some time, as the President of the Miami Benefit Club, a community service devoted to helping children and the homeless. I specifically remember being surprised, in 2004, when he told me he was going to Thailand as part of a relief effort for those devastated by the Tsunami. He actively recruited other volunteers for that trip, and took 30 people with him.

I never thought I'd see Ron's spirit crushed, or see him impoverished, after everything he went through as a kid, and seeing his resilience, accomplishments and loving heart, as an adult. But he was wrongfully terminated from his job as a result of unlawful workplace harassment, for which I myself represented him in recovering a substantial amount of damages. He was unsuccessful in securing another position as banker, though, despite much effort and many applications at other banks. During this time, he got by as a mechanic's assistant for his uncle, who has a garage and body shop here in our neighborhood.

Ron's health issues began in April 2019, when an acquaintance, who was visiting him at his home, punched him in the face, broke his nose badly, and stole some of his property. He was afraid of the perpetrator, and never pursued criminal charges, for fear of being victimized again. He had no money to seek medical treatment, though, and his serious injury went untreated.

Shortly thereafter, and just before the pandemic year of 2020, Ron's money ran out. Although he owned his home, he ended up in foreclosure, and hired a lawyer named Jordan Weinkle, who he had, at the time, considered a friend, to defend him in the foreclosure action. Then, in September 2019, Ron suffered the loss of his closest relative - his grandmother - who died in Honduras as a result of medical malpractice (she was allergic to penicillin, but injected with penicillin while she was in the hospital, which killed her instantly). Only a month later, in October 2019, Ron's beloved boxer and best friend, Marley, died in his arms as a result of a brain tumor.

The foreclosure action culminated, in April 2021, with the short sale of Ron's home, a waterfront condo in North Beach. As it happened, his lawyer, Mr. Weinkle, who also served as Ron's agent in the sale of his home, disappeared after the closing, without any accounting for the $101,259.40 in proceeds that were the difference between the foreclosure judgment and the amount of the sale. I became involved that late Summer, when Ron called me from Honduras, where he had gone to stay, for some time, with a friend, asking for my help in tracking down Mr. Weinkle. I succeeded in meeting with Mr. Weinkle, who promised to provide us the accounting, closing documents, and settlement statement showing the amount of proceeds due and owing to Ron, and to pay Ron the money that was owed to him, but he ultimately ghosted us, again, a couple of months later, and was subsequently disbarred, in December 2021, for his theft of client funds unrelated to the money he stole from Ron.

In January 2022, I filed on Ron's behalf a claim with The Florida Bar Client Security Fund, in hopes of helping him obtain some measure of compensation for all of the money stolen by Mr. Weinkle. Some months later, they rejected his claim for lack of proof. Thereafter, I obtained from the closing agent the records necessary to prove the theft, which revealed that Mr. Weinkle had instructed the closing agent to wire to his own account the proceeds of the sale that were due and owing to Ron. The records revealed that, after closing costs and attorney's fees, Ron was owed $68,840.39, which amounted to his entire life's savings. The Florida Bar Client Security Fund reopened Ron's claim after receiving the records of proof that I sent to them, but, as of the last update, the investigation of his claim was only set to be initiated last month, and there is no timetable on the conclusion of that matter, nor any promise of reimbursement for his loss.

After the sale of his home, and before he left for Honduras, Ron secured a rental property in Bay Harbour. As if this series of misfortunes couldn't get worse, that building was condemned, in September 2021, while he was away. All the residents were vacated, and while Chirsti House assisted the other residents with temporary housing, Ron's request for temporary housing assistance - upon his return, in October 2021 - was denied. The building that was condemned was owned by the soon-to-be disbarred attorney, Jordan Weinkle, who took Ron for every penny. Mr. Weinkle's fraudulent purchase and mismanagement of that Bal Harbor property are still the subject of ongoing litigation.

Ron hit rock bottom upon his return to Miami. He was, for weeks, homeless, and ended up sleeping under a bridge until a friend allowed him to stay on an abandoned boat up in Broward County that was infested with mold and iguana feces. His health took a bad turn and this is when he began experiencing the debilitating infections and deterioration of his nasal bridge and septum that have plagued him ever since. Ron managed to secure a studio apartment back here in Miami a few months later, but still struggles to pay his monthly rent.

I saw Ron about a week ago, and it broke my heart. His nose was swollen and infected, he was dizzy and almost fell down three times just walking around his apartment, and he was in obvious agony. He went to urgent care that evening and got some medicine, as he has done many times before, but I couldn't sleep that night, wishing I could think of a way to help him. Since then, I've listed for auction with three different online brokers a piece of artwork I inherited from my father, and am hoping I can sell it for $2,000, and intend to give Ron the proceeds of that sale, but have had no success.

Ron needs $7,000 for his medical procedures, and I'm trying to raise an additional $500 for his trip to Honduras where he will have those procedures performed. His doctor has broken down the charges as "Functional nasal surgery - $3,000; Secondary Rhinoplasty - $3,500; Cleaning nostrils - $500."

I love this selfless and kind man, and his life means a lot to me. Ron has welcomed me into his home on nights when I couldn't go home and had nowhere else to go, and was a friend to me when I needed it most, like when I lost my own beloved dog and my grandmother and my job and got divorced all in the span of less than one year; when my wife and I lost our son; and when I struggled terribly with fearing for the life of one of our daughters, who underwent two open heart surgeries and spent more than a year of her life in the hospital, before she was 5 years old. I even called him once, in the middle of a bad night, many years ago now, when I was too drunk to drive, and he came and picked me up, without hesitation, and drove me the 30 minutes it took to get me home. I want to save him, and this is my plea.

Today is Ron's 49th birthday, and I am going to let him know, once this has been submitted, that I have made this GoFundMe page, in hopes that it will give him a lift and the strength to hold on until we can somehow secure the money he needs for the surgeries needed to save his life. I'm praying for you to please help.