Hi everyone!

I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of my partner Lalo and his family for his mother Elsa.

Elsa - beloved mother and grandmother - recently traveled from her home city of Chihuahua, Mexico to come stay at our house on the East Cape of Baja to house sit for us while we visited my family in the states. During her stay at our home she began to experience labored breathing and having respiratory distress. Despite medication, things deteriorated and on August 12th she ended up traveling the 2.5 hours to Cabo by bus for medical treatment Upon admittance, she was told she was close to death and would not have made it through the night. She was consequently diagnosed with massive pleural effusion and pneumonia and was treated accordingly. She spent 2 weeks in the hospital recovering before she was released on August 26th

Upon release from the hospital her condition quickly deteriorated again with more fluid building up in the lungs & uncontrollable nausea. She returned to the hospital on September 2nd and was again admitted in critical condition. She has since remained in the hospital and doctors have struggled to accurately diagnose why she is ill. They placed a chest drain that has continued to drain the fluid that has continued to build up in her lungs with no explanation. Because this is the public health system testing has been slow and care has been lacking.

Multiple times we have needed to pay to do things privately because the amount of time it takes to get some things done would mean she would die before even having access to testing. A few weeks ago she needed an emergency CT to look at the fluid building in her lungs. They couldn't fit her in for a CT for 2 weeks, which according to the doctors might be too late. These out of pocket expenses have already drained everything we have and we are now facing the same situation but on a much larger scale.

On Thursday September 14th they did another CT & found a large tumor that is taking up nearly her entire left lung.

The tumor is very very large, as you can see in the photo attached below it takes up the whole lung and is starting to push against other structures and organs. Obviously this is not ideal and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

We have paid out of pocket to consult with a specialist who told us that it is imperative to not wait to biopsy or to begin treatment with a tumor of this size. Unfortunately the public health IMSS system is very backed up and the specialist stressed that getting the biopsy done publicly vs privately could be the difference between life and death.

The procedure they want to do privately would entail sending the lung tumor sample to be biopsied while the procedure is still in process. That way they will know exactly what type of cancer we are working with and whether they should attempt to take it out right then. They will also obliterate her pleural space so that no more fluid can build up in her lungs.

The cost of this procedure is quoted around 18k USD on the cheaper end.

Unfortunately that is far above and beyond what we are able to pay, so we are reaching out to ask for help.

We have spent everything we have getting private CTs, lab testing and plane tickets for Lalo to get down there. Her sisters came from Chihuahua, but with a limited budget only had the means to stay 4 days, and I do not have means to fly down to help out either. Right now her son, best friend, and niece are the only ones in los cabos who are able to take care of her. This means that Lalo, Antonia, and Karla are a 3 man team spread thin as they have someone in the hospital with Elsa at all times to make sure she is receiving adequate care while the other two rest and do everything that is needed outside the hospital to continue care. Additionally, Lalo has no set place to stay and has spent some nights in his car.

As you may have the misfortune of knowing, normal bills tend to stack up quickly alongside medical bills when it comes to battling cancer.

I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of Elsa, and her medical treatment. Our first hope is to get enough to cover the biopsy so we know what we are up against. However, it would be amazing to show even more love and support and create a small day to day cushion for future treatments that will be needed and also so no one is worrying about rent, what they're going to eat that day, if they will have a place to stay on a day to day basis, or whether they'll be able to make it to Cabo if they're needed.

Elsa is the hardworking single mother to 3 children - Lalo, who flew down from Washington to be with her, Pamela who is taking care of her own kids in Chihuahua and Franco who is sadly not in the picture. She is the beloved grandmother and one of the primary caretakers to Pamela's kids - Lia and Mateo, as well as Franco's son Marcos. She needs a life saving biopsy NOW and we are reaching out to you for help.

Updated will be posted here as we know things!

You can also donate via other payment methods - please put ELSA as the message.

venmo: Eduardo-Meraz-6

paypal: will be posted soon

zelle: 2069142793