Help The Escobar Family lay Manny to Rest

— MANNY’S HEALTH STORY:

Most of us who knew Manny know he’s had a long rollercoaster of a battle with liver cancer/liver failure. He’s fought cancer on & off since 2016 and won each time. However, in 2020, his last cancer treatment took too much of a toll on his body and accelerated his liver failure, which eventually snowballed into kidney failure too. We desperately needed him to get a liver transplant as it was the only thing that could save his life. Unfortunately, this process did not go as smoothly as we had hoped and did not produce the outcome we needed.

In April 2021, we finally got a call for an available liver and Manny was feeling more ready than ever to get the transplant. He made it to the operating table and was cut open, but the surgeon noticed something off with the new liver and decided to do a last-minute biopsy on it. He discovered the organ wasn’t healthy enough to transplant. Manny had to heal from a procedure that didn’t result in a transplant. While he was recovering in the hospital afterward, the doctors gave us the impression that he would hopefully get a new liver offer before fully healing from the failed procedure so it would be easier to open him back up for operation. You would assume he’d be at the top of the MELD score chart (liver transplant list) for his body and blood type after the failure of the first operation, but we were never offered another liver while he was still recovering in the hospital. He was slotted as a back-up recipient a few times if the primary recipient didn’t accept the liver, but that always fell through. After he had been home for a couple months, we finally got another call for a liver in August 2021. Again, even though his health wasn’t as great as it was before the failed operation, he was feeling as ready as ever to get the transplant. They got him to the hospital to be prepped, but once again, they discovered this new liver was no good and my dad was sent home.

Months went by with no call for a new liver as Manny got more sick. After the first failed operation in April 2021, he began having to regularly undergo dialysis. He also ended up needing procedures that put a pause on his place on active transplant list. He took a fall that we believe caused a small brain bleed that required a procedure to stop the bleeding before they could perform a potential liver transplant. Eventually, Manny became too sick and it didn’t seem like dialysis and his medications were helping as much as they used to. He was admitted into the hospital on December 10, 2021. He faced so many obstacles while he was in the hospital, but he fought through them all because that’s what Manny does. He wanted to be here and we all wanted him to be here, and he deserved to survive all of this. In January, the surgeons on the liver team gave us the impression that they weren’t going to go through with the transplant because important arteries were too clogged to safely do the procedure. However, we were able to get the interventional radiology team to intervene and clear those clogged arteries, which got him back on the active transplant list.

Manny kept overcoming every obstacle that got in his way. He went through so much trial and tribulation throughout all of this. He had paid so much forward in the past and we all knew how much he was owed a liver and how much he deserved to survive this.

On the night of February 10, 2022, two months after checking in to the hospital, Manny was finally given another liver offer. It was a perfect, healthy liver and it was finally here. After weighing all the options and running tests to check Manny’s health conditions, everyone determined this opportunity was too good to pass up and that he desperately needed this chance. We had always known that Manny’s operation would be a complicated procedure given his body and his health, but we were feeling positive and hopeful that things were finally going to work out, especially after he had already defeated all his past obstacles.

For the past few months, Manny had been experiencing some confusion and delusions due to his liver & kidney failure, and from being in the ICU for so long. He wasn’t always cognitively there. But, he was aware that he finally got a good liver offer and was going in for a transplant. Before going in for the procedure, he was happy and feeling positive to finally get his chance. Everyone was rooting for him and he could feel all the love and prayers. One of the last things he said before going into the OR was “I got this,” which is something he affirmed often throughout his battles.

Unfortunately, the surgeons called us that night only two hours into the procedure. With great sadness, they informed us that they could not safely go through with the transplant. They said Manny had too much scar tissue that was fused to his organs. If they had kept trying to get through it, it would cause too much bleeding and he would’ve likely bled out on the operating table. The fluid from his ascites also looked like it could’ve been infected and if that spilled around too much it could cause sepsis which could’ve also killed him. Manny always told the surgeons “bring me back, doc” before going into procedures, so they determined they couldn’t risk trying any further.

We were told that all we could do now is spend as much time as we have left with him. The estimate on how much time we had started anywhere from a week to a month, maybe two. After this last transplant attempt, Manny’s body struggled to heal and he began to decline much faster than we expected. He never fully came to and was never able to get extubated or speak. A week-to-a-month suddenly shrank to 3-4 days of trying to keep him alive and comfortable so family could try and visit him. On February 14, 2022, we were told his condition wasn’t getting better and he may not make it through the night. Manny tried to hang on as long as he could with family coming from out of town on the way to see him. He fought so hard and so strong for so long, but his body was too tired and beat up at this point. He was ready to rest. On February 15, 2022, at around 10:30 a.m., the beautiful soul that is Manny left us peacefully as Heaven gained another angel. His wife and eldest daughter were at his side, holding his hand and bidding him farewell.

 

— A LITTLE ABOUT MANNY:

Manny Escobar was like no other — an absolute character and a true legend; the definition of One of a Kind. He was a Husband, a Son, a Father (to many), a Brother (to many), a Twin, a Grand/Great Grandfather, an Uncle (to many), a Nephew, a Cousin, a Coach, a Best Friend (to many) — literally and figuratively, he was everything. The nurses and doctors in the ICU told us that they had never seen a patient get so many visitors in his final days. Everyone who ever met Manny never forgot him. He always had a way of making people laugh and smile (and he still does even now). No one lit up a room quite like Manny Escobar. He had a huge heart and cared for so many of us. A big family man, born and raised in the Bronx, NY. Repping Boricua and NY Yankees since 1949. He moved out to California in the 1970s and remained in Los Angeles County for the rest of his life, where he was warm and playing in slow pitch softball tournaments (always the MVP with a room full of trophies and awards to show for it). He was a man of many talents and always extended our home to family and friends, and sometimes even strangers in need. Manny was not perfect, but he had a heart of gold and is loved and cherished by so so many. He will be sorely missed, but always with us in spirit.

Manny Escobar Forever ❤️

 

— WHAT THE FUNDS WILL HELP WITH:

This gofundme was originally supposed to be made to help out with Manny’s transplant recovery. Unfortunately, this fundraiser will now be used to help our family with the funeral & memorial service expenses as well as financial support for my mom, Manny’s wife, Eileen who has lost a lot of income while caring for Manny and spending every day at the hospital with him, by his side. Times have been very rough lately and also with the ongoing pandemic, so we can use all the support we can get ASAP.

Thank you all so much, we appreciate everyone’s love and help

**UPDATE: Thank you all so much for helping us reach our goal and go beyond!! We are blown away by all of your love, support and generosity. It truly warms our hearts. These funds help us out more than you know, we can’t thank you enough. We love you ❤️❤️
- The Escobar Family