Jose Luis Mejia Medical Fund

Jose Luis Mejia was on Christmas break visiting his family in Honduras. The day before he and his family were to fly home Jose Luis became very ill. He was taken to a hospital two hours away and was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. His enzyme levels were unbelievably high. He was started on medications immediately and his numbers actually started to look better. His abdomen is swollen due to the inflamation and this swelling began to put pressure on his lungs causing his lungs to not be able to expand and he started to have trouble breathing, the doctor put him on oxygen. The oxygen helped but the pressure kept getting worse. The physician upped the Oxygen to a very high level but his breathing and his oxygen saturation has not improved. The situation become severe enough that it was necessary to move him into the ICU.  Jose/Luis is gravely ill (I cannot emphasis the "gravely" part enough) and will be in the ICU (if all goes well) for 2 to 3 weeks. The hospital in Honduras is a "pay as you go" and they have asked for a payment of $40,000 dollars now. We have no way of knowing if there will be more to come or if two to three weeks is a reasonable time for this dreadful situation. His beautiful wife, daughter, and infant son are there. The daughter needs to get back to school in the states...but that is an issue that cannot be addressed right now. Jose Luis's survival is primary at this point. This is the most wonderful little family and they are very loved but their funds have been depleted by this first week in the hospital. The purpose of this fund is to pay the hospital so that Jose Luis can stay there until he is well enough to leave (and hopefully come back to the states).  It is had been made clear that to stay in this hospital, the bill has to be paid up front. This is literally a life and death situation.