Beaverton resident, Jose Valle, went to visit his native country, El Salvador, last month on vacation and was hit with a litany of health problems that landed him in a public hospital following a burst appendix. Jose had a rough two week hospital stay before he came down with a fever and fell into a coma that he thankfully awoke from after 6 days. 

Jose’s son, Erick Valle, arrived in the capital San Salvador on May 21st (a day after Jose woke from the coma) and took action to find his father a more attentive, private hospital with proper care and resources. Unfortunately the care from a public hospital in El Salvador is limited, though universally accessible to residents. In the meantime, a second surgery was necessary at the public hospital to remove as much infected material as possible. 

Thankfully, once Jose was transferred to the private Hospital Bautista, the new medical team hurried Jose into an emergency surgery to clear out deep and severe infections that still remained after going septic from the burst appendix. Jose’s heart stopped momentarily during this procedure- his body, after such ordeals, can’t support the surgery process as easily. The fourth surgery, which was to further clean infected tissue, was done with Jose conscious and his son Erick attending.  

At this point, Jose’s immune system is taxed and we are relying on antibiotics, medication, and faith to fight the rest of the infection. Jose is too weak to receive further surgeries.

Currently, the doctors have given Jose a 50/50 chance of pulling through. 

Now is the time for powerful prayers, blessings, and heart-reaching thoughts of encouragement. The medical team honestly found it a miracle that Jose even woke up from his coma, and we deeply believe that it’s due to the hundreds of positive thoughts reaching out. He’s survived some close calls throughout this incident, and we believe he can pull through this with our continued help. 

As we hope for a speedy recovery, medical bills continue to amount. Because insurance won’t transfer abroad, this is all coming out-of-pocket and the expenses have gone beyond what the family can privately handle. 

Thanks to the beautiful generosity and support of ours and Jose’s community, we have been able to raise over $5,000 in 15 days through www.GoFundMe.com/josevalle, and even more in cash gifts from loved ones. This made it possible for initial medical costs to be covered, as well as travel expenses for Erick to be by his father’s side and support him day to day. We currently owe roughly $13,000 to the hospital, with a projected total of $20,000-$30,000 by the time this is all said and done.

Erick Valle and partner Amber Tippets express their deepest gratitude to their supportive community, as well as to the head doctor at Bautista, Dr. Laguardia. Dr. Laguardia is working with the family to mediate costs and lighten the burden of the current circumstances as much as possible. 


Heartfelt thank-you’s for sharing Jose’s story and directing people to the fundraising site at www.gofundme.com/josevalle. 

A fundraising benefit concert is being held at Erick and Amber’s private home in NE Portland on Sunday, June 12th from 5pm-11pm to aid in medical and international expenses. Please see the Facebook link for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/637112306442654/?notif_t=plan_user_associated&notif_id=1464939794113811