First and far most, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help a wonderful human being regain the ability to live a normal life. 
My name is Pablo Estrada, writing on behalf of my aunt Mayra Alvarado, and this is her tragic story.

In early 2017, Mayra began to notice both her hands feeling extremely numb, as some describe as "hands falling asleep".  When these symptoms began, she did not think much about why she started feeling this way. In her defense, she blamed her age as being a likely factor. However, after a couple moths of feeling constant numbness and occasional shooting pain she decided it was finally time to seek professional medical advice. In November of 2017, Mayra attended her first orthopedic medical evaluation and was quickly diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Mayra's orthopedic doctor immediately recommended surgery, suggesting that surgery during the early stages would be beneficial on the long run. However, due to her illegal immigration status, she was not able to apply or even purchase medical insurance, resulting in declining surgery as an option. Instead, Mayra opted for at home remedies, including prescription pain creams, anti-inflammatory over the counter drugs, and worse of all, were cortisone injections (one for each hand) that cost $300  each every 3 month. After three years of quarterly visits to her Orthopedic doctor, Mayra was forced to discontinue the use of cortisone injections after a scary visit to the emergency room.

In December of 2020, the night of her ER visit, Mayra woke up to shooting pain radiating from her hands, to her upper arms and to the back of her neck. She describes the agony of the pain she felt that night, embarrassed to have woken up her neighbors, for what many described as the sound of a possible crime scene. Mayra rushed to the ER hoping to get the only thing that she believed would help: cortisone injections. However, after her lab work returned, the attending physician declined the medication, citing the dangerous levels of toxicity in her blood that resulted from a prolonged use of steroid injections. Over the course of three years her body developed a dependency for the drug, leaving her to wonder what kind of suffering would come next. By this point, she was dealing with a sever case of advanced carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Immediately, Mayra was obligated to leave her full-time job of baby-sitting, as her diagnoses progressed for the worse. 

Recently, her son had to put his career on hold to attend to her most basic needs. Helping her with some of the most essential tasks such as holding utensils, opening water bottles, cleaning duties, bathing and brushing her teeth. 

On February 17th 2021, Mayra attended her first visit with the orthopedic surgeon she was referred to. To her dismay, she was informed that her conditioned was progressed and would require approximately seven surgeries. Three in her right hand, two in her left hand, and one in each elbow. 

Unfortunately, Mayra is not able to afford the imaging orders the surgeon put in to make a conclusive plan of action. 

After calling several places to inquire about the cash price (out of pocket expense) for all three scans, the amount adds up to approximately $4000). 


We politely ask for your donations to help turn my aunt's life around. All my life she has been like a mother to my 12 siblings and I. She has always worked great with children and absolutely wishes to return to a job she hardly describes as being a job. Your support can make such a big difference. No amount is too big or too small. We are humbled if you are able to contribute towards this cause, and will be forever grateful if you can spread the word by sharing this link. 


Estimated Cost per surgery:  $8000  x 7 (estimated number of surgeries required).  

Imaging: $4000

Last date of employment: December 2020. 

Monthly obligations: 

$1400 rent
$800 other


Urgency: immediate