Help Manny Blanco Access Life-Changing Therapy

I'm Ralph Santisteban and I am creating this GoFundMe page for my dear friend, Manny Blanco. Many of my friends and contacts are familiar with Manny. He is known in the cruise industry for his tenure with Norwegian Cruise Lines as a Business Development Manager (BDM). An employee of NCL for over 20 years, he became well known and loved by all.

A few years ago, Manny was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Eventually, he needed to stop working and take a disability leave. Manny has had a challenging few years. He has battled Parkinson's with bravery and many of you have had the opportunity to see him at moments where his health permitted him to interact well with others. Regretfully, most recently, Manny's tremors have taken a turn for the worse. Although he is an upbeat and optimistic man, the disease is beginning to take its toll.

Medical treatments and options for his particular case are now exhausted domestically. There does not appear to be any other medication for which he is a candidate that may make this situation better. However, in Europe there appears to be a treatment that may be promising.

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment in Spain has shown some significant success in improving tremors in cases such as his. He has been in contact with "El Centro Integral de Neurociencias", a neuroscience center in Spain, and has had several Zoom calls and appointments with their medical staff. It appears Manny is a candidate and the treatment will be offered to him in September 2024, but the treatment is not inexpensive.

The cost of the procedure alone is 20K Euros. In addition, Manny will need to fly to Spain for a few weeks to undergo the therapy. It appears that there will be lodging through a personal friend that will permit him to not require a hotel. Nevertheless, in addition there will be incidental expenses.

I ask that you reach deep into your pockets to show your support for a dear friend and colleague. Our goal is $30,000 that should cover the rates of exchange and incidental costs.

Let's do this!