I am raising funds to help my brother and his wife to continue ongoing care and treatment of their daughter who has special medical needs.

If you don't personally know me, I currently live in Los Angeles, but my brother and his family live in São Paulo, Brazil.

This is a medical report she received last year that describes her lifelong condition:

"The minor Luíza Mello Lombarde, 5 years old, was diagnosed with a brain lesion soon after birth, caused by a suspected cytomegalovirus disease (ICD: B25.9), which progressed to cerebral palsy (ICD: G80) and epileptic syndrome (ICD: G40).

Family members report that initially, she did not require continuous oxygen support, which brought a sense of relief. However, as time went on, and as she grew, the complications began to appear. When she was about one year old, she needed to undergo a gastrostomy because her oral feeding was no longer safe due to her clinical condition. Upon turning 3, she was hospitalized with a case of bronchiolitis, which was complicated by an associated hospital-acquired pneumonia, a very common complication in patients who remain hospitalized for long periods. The pneumonia further aggravated her respiratory condition. When doctors attempted to extubate her, as the infection was controlled, an unexpected problem occurred: her trachea collapsed, causing a severe airway blockage.

In this critical moment, she suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest that lasted about 17 minutes, but she was resuscitated. However, the complications in her respiratory tract left few options, and the only viable solution at that point was to perform a tracheostomy so that she could breathe adequately.

After the placement of the tracheostomy, her life changed drastically. From that moment on, an even more intense and specialized level of support became necessary. It was then that the health plan began to provide 24-hour nursing assistance, which was essential to ensure the continuity of the necessary care at home. This continuous support made it possible for her to receive adequate monitoring, including the management of the tracheostomy and gastrostomy, in addition to monitoring her respiratory and general health condition.(...)".

In another words, she needs 24 hours of care for the rest of her life.

Our family manages the situation the best that we can.

If something is not covered by their Health Insurance, we try to pitch in and help in any way. But even with so many family members and friends helping, there are still circumstances that leave us desperate for help.

As of today, Luiza has been hospitalized for the last week with pneumonia and other respiratory complications. We hope she will be discharged soon but there's nothing we can do to bring her home sooner.

Meanwhile her parents have to juggle between work and hospital stays, but when they are not there, they have their home aide caregiver to tend to her at the hospital, and that incur with unexpected additional costs that on top of everything they already spend for her regular care, puts them on an even worse financial situation.

My intention here is to raise funds and transfer to his personal account in Brazil.

Any help makes a big impact on her treatment.

With the exchange rate from US $ to BR $ Real, 1 US $ is worth about 5 times the Brazilian currency, so if you donate US $10, they will actually receive BR $50.

The cost for the caregivers is approximate $500 for 2 weeks.

So this is not even that much money if we think about, but for my niece Luiza, this means improving her quality of life.

Unfortunately she will never have a regular life. She can't speak, she can't feed herself. There are countless things she won't be able to do. But luckily she receives endless love and support from her parents Bruno and Alessandra, from the family and friends, and even from strangers.

I hope you are able to help us.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions about Luiza, about her condition, or anything you would like to know about the donation.

Thank You in Advance.

Cristian Lombarde

instagram.com/cristianlombarde

Bruno Lombarde

instagram.com/pai_da_luiza_matheus