Help the Galicia Family

My name is Abby Joiner. In December of 2017, my good friend Pedro Galicia was rushed to the ER by his spouse, Jess, following a seizure in the middle of the night. What at the time seemed likely to be an easily treatable problem quickly revealed itself to be much worse: Pedro's CT scan showed an 11cm tumor on his right kidney, and the diagnosis was cancer.

Pedro had surgery to remove his kidney in January of 2018, and since then has undergone a series of medical treatments in Chicago; this was a necessary but financially burdensome endeavor. And while the treatments looked promising at first, unfortunately they have stopped working. Pedro's cancer is terminal, and he will transition to hospice care in the very near future.

Pedro, his amazing spouse, Jess, and their beautiful 7-year-old daughter, Willow, are currently going through one of the hardest things a family can go through. And on top of extreme emotional stress, they are facing financial uncertainty: while the company Jess works for has been very understanding and is allowing them to take off an indefinite amount of time, they will have no income while they are not working. There will also of course be funeral expenses to worry about, as well as occasional childcare for Willow now that there will be only one parent in the household.

Pedro is truly one of the most amazing human beings I know. He is kind, ridiculously talented yet humble, quick-witted and hilarious, a loyal friend, and a dedicated father and husband. I know I am not alone in feeling the incredible void that will be left when we no longer have Pedro in this world.

Please consider donating to help these wonderful people through the worst thing.