Hello, our names are Grecia and Fernando. We are parents to two beautiful girls, Analiah and Ariella. Ariella is our youngest and she was diagnosed with level 3 autism. We want to take a moment to share our story. Ariella was born on May 13, 2021, and was 6lbs 15oz. She has beautiful big brown eyes and the most beautiful smile.

When she was 10 months, we started noticing that she wasn’t doing things that a 10-month-old would do like sitting down, babbling, looking at us when we called her name, etc. So, I trusted my motherly instinct and made her an appointment with her pediatrician. Her doctor confirmed that she wasn’t meeting the milestones that other kids her age meet by then. Then I heard the words autism spectrum. At that point, I thought I knew what autism meant. I thought it was an ending. An ending to the hopes and dreams that I had for my little girl. I thought it meant limitations to things my little girl can do in life. I cried on my way home that day and as I was getting her out of the car, I looked at her and I decided that I would not let fear overcome us.

I got home and did as much research as I could. I learned the different ways of helping her and the different types of treatments and therapies. But the first step was getting an official diagnosis of autism. I called the pediatrician and asked for her to be referred to a specialist that can help get a diagnosis and let us know where on the spectrum she could be on. At this time, unfortunately, we lived in a very small town with very limited resources. But after a lot of calling around and asking for information, they sent her to a specialist in Phoenix, AZ, that told us she has Level 3 autism. At this time, we decided that it was in her best interest to move from Nogales, AZ to Phoenix. After a long, difficult move and getting stable, we found Action Behavior Center. Their facilities provide occupational therapy 5 days a week for children on the spectrum. The ABA center has helped us immensely with helping her learn everyday things such as looking when we call her name and to ask for more food. The journey has not been easy but it has been awe-inspiring in seeing her meet some milestones.

But even with all the therapy she gets for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, she’s still struggling. At night, she doesn’t sleep and stays up to 3 am crying. She still can’t talk, which is the most frustrating thing for her. She can’t tell us when something hurts or when she feels sad or mad. So her frustrations turn into her harming herself. It turns into her biting us and her sister. With her frustrations, I became worried about her taking it out on herself and others. We wanted to make sure that we were looking into any other option for treatment. That’s when we learned of a doctor in Mexico that treats children with autism using stem cells. He is known around the world for being able to help these children achieve a big breakthrough in overcoming the symptoms of autism. Like being able to talk, write, and develop better motor skills. We decided to make an appointment over the phone with him and see what options he can offer and if he could help Ariella. After a long conversation with him about our daughter, he let us know that he could help her.

Unfortunately, with such a treatment and travel, expenses get high. The treatment itself is $17,000 and this is where we wanted to ask for your help. Anything that will help us achieve the goal so that my daughter has the best chance in life. We also have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ so prayers are appreciated as well. Thank you for your time in reading our story and your help!