Hi, my name is Elizabeth Astudillo, and I’m raising funds for my 16-year-old niece, María Paz, who is bravely fighting to recover after multiple strokes and open-heart surgery.

Until just a few weeks ago, María Paz was a healthy, vibrant teenager.

She lives in Quito, Ecuador, and plays as goalkeeper for Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (LDU). She had just earned a scholarship to study at LDU’s high school and had a bright future ahead.

Then, in May 2025, everything changed.

She went to bed feeling unwell… and didn’t wake up the same.

She was found disoriented, unresponsive, with involuntary movements and vomiting. We rushed her to the hospital.

Doctors gave us heartbreaking news: A heart tumor (myxoma) had silently released blood clots into her brain. She had suffered multiple strokes and needed emergency open-heart surgery to survive. She spent days in the ICU, unable to speak, move, or respond.

Her life was hanging by a thread. But María Paz is a fighter.

Today, just days after leaving intensive care, she can sit up, smile, brush her teeth, use her tablet, and even watch her favorite movie, Star Wars. She can now move one leg that was paralyzed. She still can’t walk or speak, but every day brings hope.

Doctors say her recovery is “a miracle in motion.” But her journey is just beginning. To fully recover, María Paz urgently needs:

These treatments are very expensive. We, her family in Ecuador and abroad, are doing everything we can to support her, but we can’t do it alone.

Please consider donating $5, $10, $20, any amount helps.

All funds go directly toward her recovery.

Let’s help her keep fighting.

Thank you for your love, your generosity, and for believing in this miracle in progress.