Juan's Fight
Donation protected
"Family is not an important thing. It's EVERYTHING." - Michael J. Fox

Mateos Family
Juan (dad), Julieann (mom), Abel (son) & Arabella (daughter)
May 2019, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Ewing Sarcoma, a cancer that targets your bones. With a brave face he started radiation/chemo, 31 total rounds. He suffered from nausea, fatigue & hair loss but still managed to stay smiling through it all. After 8 long months (December 2019) he finished his last round of chemotherapy & we got the amazing news that he was CANCER FREE!
We had 8 amazing months together. Spent as much time as we could together, as a family.
Then in August of 2020 Juan's pain returned. After some scans and biopsy our worst nightmare was confirmed, his cancer had came back.
His amazing team of doctors and nurses at OHSU wanted to try something different this time around, surgery. Left hemipelvectomy.
He went into surgery on Oct. 8th & got discharged on the 10th.
We rushed Juan into the ER a couple days after that & they told us that his bladder had ruptured. They added a drain to help relieve the stress and a catheter as well & sent him home.
Juan was so strong through all this. He had to use a walker to get around. Had to sleep upright in a hospital bed. He took all his medicine and tried his best to stay positive & strong for his family.
October 28th, my 24th birthday, we went in for an appointment. The doctors told us that the surgery they thought would help did not do what they wanted. His cancer was aggressive & spreading.
They wanted to try chemo/radiation again BUT had to wait for his bladder to heal in order to start. They worried that the longer they put it off the worse his cancer would get/spread but it was out of their hands.
It seemed things started going downhill from here. The doctors became concerned with the output from his drains & catheter & scheduled an emergency appointment. He went in & they decided that they needed to add another two drains to help relieve the stress off his bladder. He went in on the 4th of November & had the procedure done.
The constant nausea & pain was unbearable at times but he persevered. He started losing feelings in his outer limbs and was rushed to the ER once again. They ran CT scans, x-rays, blood tests & did a spinal tap on him to try & figure out what was going on. While we were waiting on the test results from the spinal tap Juan started having trouble breathing, he was getting worse. They rushed him down to the Neuro ICU & put him on a ventilator to help him breathe. It was there that they found out that he had Guillan-Barre syndrome.
With the COVID pandemic happening we aren't able to stay with Juan in the hospital overnight. Visitation is from 8 AM - 10 PM, only one person is allowed a day, no swapping. We are asking for prayers and help.
He beat it once & we know he will beat it again.
We are also putting together a collection of videos of family & friends saying words of encouragement for Juan. If you'd like to send one in please contact us.

Mateos Family
Juan (dad), Julieann (mom), Abel (son) & Arabella (daughter)
May 2019, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Ewing Sarcoma, a cancer that targets your bones. With a brave face he started radiation/chemo, 31 total rounds. He suffered from nausea, fatigue & hair loss but still managed to stay smiling through it all. After 8 long months (December 2019) he finished his last round of chemotherapy & we got the amazing news that he was CANCER FREE!
We had 8 amazing months together. Spent as much time as we could together, as a family.
Then in August of 2020 Juan's pain returned. After some scans and biopsy our worst nightmare was confirmed, his cancer had came back.
His amazing team of doctors and nurses at OHSU wanted to try something different this time around, surgery. Left hemipelvectomy.
He went into surgery on Oct. 8th & got discharged on the 10th.
We rushed Juan into the ER a couple days after that & they told us that his bladder had ruptured. They added a drain to help relieve the stress and a catheter as well & sent him home.
Juan was so strong through all this. He had to use a walker to get around. Had to sleep upright in a hospital bed. He took all his medicine and tried his best to stay positive & strong for his family.
October 28th, my 24th birthday, we went in for an appointment. The doctors told us that the surgery they thought would help did not do what they wanted. His cancer was aggressive & spreading.
They wanted to try chemo/radiation again BUT had to wait for his bladder to heal in order to start. They worried that the longer they put it off the worse his cancer would get/spread but it was out of their hands.
It seemed things started going downhill from here. The doctors became concerned with the output from his drains & catheter & scheduled an emergency appointment. He went in & they decided that they needed to add another two drains to help relieve the stress off his bladder. He went in on the 4th of November & had the procedure done.
The constant nausea & pain was unbearable at times but he persevered. He started losing feelings in his outer limbs and was rushed to the ER once again. They ran CT scans, x-rays, blood tests & did a spinal tap on him to try & figure out what was going on. While we were waiting on the test results from the spinal tap Juan started having trouble breathing, he was getting worse. They rushed him down to the Neuro ICU & put him on a ventilator to help him breathe. It was there that they found out that he had Guillan-Barre syndrome.
With the COVID pandemic happening we aren't able to stay with Juan in the hospital overnight. Visitation is from 8 AM - 10 PM, only one person is allowed a day, no swapping. We are asking for prayers and help.
He beat it once & we know he will beat it again.
We are also putting together a collection of videos of family & friends saying words of encouragement for Juan. If you'd like to send one in please contact us.
Fundraising team (2)
Sernaorsen Dela Cruz
Organizer
Beaverton, OR
Sernaorsen Dela-Cruz
Team member
