JOSE GARCIA ( CHAMO)
Donation protected
Jose Antonio Garcia came to Vancouver, Canada from Venezuela on his own with a tourist visa. He wanted to experience our beautiful country and gather information on how to become a student and learn English so he could have a better future.
He met some friends along the way who happened to play for a soccer league. He expressed his love for soccer and how he played for a team back home in Venezuela. His friends asked him to join the team and he became their goalie. He was great, his passion was undeniable, he felt welcomed and he quickly became part of the family.
On July 16, 2015, CFC had a soccer match. The game was going well, and everything was fair and clean. Jose went to stop a shot from becoming a goal, he was hit hard by the opposing team’s forward and instantly dropped to the ground. He took a few moments and got up but something wasn’t right, he was in a lot of pain and asked to be subbed out immediately.
He tried to deal with the pain and take it easy on the sideline but finally the pain became unbearable, he was sweating, feeling faint and his eyes kept closing. The team panicked and called the paramedics; he was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital to get checked out.
Once there, he received bad news. The possibility of removing his kidney due to internal bleeding. Jose was distraught and crying because he didn’t want to go through any procedures but what was really making him upset was that he had no medical insurance. Where was he going to get money from? His parents can only do so much as they are not in the best situation either and are in Venezuela where it is not easy to get a travel visa.
The league has insurance, so there was some hope but after looking deeper into it we learnt that only additional medical costs that our healthcare coverage does not cover is covered by the insurance company. Jose is not a Canadian Citizen or a permanent residence so our healthcare system will not cover him period.
He ended up getting admitted and another examination was done. Luckily they were able to stop the internal bleeding and Jose was able to keep his Kidney, so only a small procedure was performed! He needed to remain in the hospital to recover and make sure everything was ok. It looked like he was going to be discharged on the weekend July 24-26, 2015 but then he became ill again, this time with pneumonia.
He is still in the hospital and his bill is $55,000 and growing by the minute.
He came here and entered Canada legally with good intentions and hopes to eventually study in Canada. After all he’s been through and enduring lots of stress and anxiety, he still manages to put on a brave face, smile and tell us, that everything will be okay. He has touched our hearts and has become a part of our family, we don’t want to see Jose suffer anymore.
Please help us help Jose pay his medical bills.
He met some friends along the way who happened to play for a soccer league. He expressed his love for soccer and how he played for a team back home in Venezuela. His friends asked him to join the team and he became their goalie. He was great, his passion was undeniable, he felt welcomed and he quickly became part of the family.
On July 16, 2015, CFC had a soccer match. The game was going well, and everything was fair and clean. Jose went to stop a shot from becoming a goal, he was hit hard by the opposing team’s forward and instantly dropped to the ground. He took a few moments and got up but something wasn’t right, he was in a lot of pain and asked to be subbed out immediately.
He tried to deal with the pain and take it easy on the sideline but finally the pain became unbearable, he was sweating, feeling faint and his eyes kept closing. The team panicked and called the paramedics; he was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital to get checked out.
Once there, he received bad news. The possibility of removing his kidney due to internal bleeding. Jose was distraught and crying because he didn’t want to go through any procedures but what was really making him upset was that he had no medical insurance. Where was he going to get money from? His parents can only do so much as they are not in the best situation either and are in Venezuela where it is not easy to get a travel visa.
The league has insurance, so there was some hope but after looking deeper into it we learnt that only additional medical costs that our healthcare coverage does not cover is covered by the insurance company. Jose is not a Canadian Citizen or a permanent residence so our healthcare system will not cover him period.
He ended up getting admitted and another examination was done. Luckily they were able to stop the internal bleeding and Jose was able to keep his Kidney, so only a small procedure was performed! He needed to remain in the hospital to recover and make sure everything was ok. It looked like he was going to be discharged on the weekend July 24-26, 2015 but then he became ill again, this time with pneumonia.
He is still in the hospital and his bill is $55,000 and growing by the minute.
He came here and entered Canada legally with good intentions and hopes to eventually study in Canada. After all he’s been through and enduring lots of stress and anxiety, he still manages to put on a brave face, smile and tell us, that everything will be okay. He has touched our hearts and has become a part of our family, we don’t want to see Jose suffer anymore.
Please help us help Jose pay his medical bills.
Organizer
Harbey Yolanda Sanchez
Organizer
Burnaby, BC
