Marcelo Dietrich Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hi Team TMW,
I need your help! One of my favorite people, my cousin Marcelo Dietrich, is going through some of life’s trials and tribulations and I wanna help him out, but it would be much more impactful if you could help him out along with me. Here’s his story:
Back when he was in high school he was diagnosed with a super rare form of throat cancer. He was only the 2nd person in Arizona diagnosed with it and the first to survive! But to survive he had to go through surgeries, chemo and radiation among other things. Unfortunately, what wasn’t known at the time was that the radiation would cause more long term damage than the cancer itself. It basically fried his saliva glands so he stopped producing saliva and for years afterwards he had to permanently carry a water bottle with him to constantly keep sipping water to keep his throat hydrated. Over the years his throat continued to deteriorate and get progressively worse. In the last couple of years it’s gotten to the point where he lost his voice and can no longer speak audibly. Most recently he even got a tracheotomy and feeding tube installed as he can no longer eat solid foods because he can’t swallow at all. Imagine losing your voice! There’s so many people out in the world fighting to symbolically be “heard” but at least they can still communicate with their fellow man. My cousin, who was an actor by trade, not only lost his livelihood, but also lost his ability to even communicate with his closest loved ones. This is especially sad if you know him cuz you’d know how charismatic he is and what a great story teller he can be. While this is bad enough, the part I think I would personally struggle with the most if I were in his shoes is the inability to eat. I LOVE food and it brings me so much joy in life! I’m definitely an emotional eater. (Ex: if I’m having a bad day, all it takes is some ice cream to cheer me up.) sorry about the tangent about me. Haha
Anyway, in addition to the medical troubles he’s lost his career due to them so money’s been especially tight. So for those reasons he’s been in a bit of a life funk right now. (Some would even call it depression.) He’s normally one of the most positive people I know, taking all these life challenges in stride. His positivity is usually an inspiration to so many around him. But in this funk I don’t even recognize him any more. He even recently posted that he’s not sure he’s glad he survived his original cancer diagnosis. This is when I really got concerned and NEEDED to take action and do something which leads to this Go Fund Me. In recent conversations he’s mentioned wanting to get an electro larynx voice box. They’re a few grand and I know he can’t currently afford one. So what I want to do is buy one for him, but what I thought I’d do is start a go fund me because instead of me just paying for it myself, what I want him to feel in addition to the gift of his voice is the wave of love from family, loved ones, friends and strangers. If each of you can donate as much as you can, but equally as important, use YOUR voice to write an encouraging message to go along with your donation I know it will be truly impactful in helping raise his spirits and I personally will be eternally grateful. While the electro larynx voice box is “only” a few thousand dollars I’m going to raise the goal to a larger amount in hopes that maybe somehow this goes viral and really blows up so maybe he can even save towards a larynx transplant surgery at the Mayo Clinic. even with insurance such a procedure would run into the tens of thousands of dollars. So not expecting to get to that amount, but if we can even get him started on that eventual dream maybe that will be enough to brighten his day and bring my beloved cousin back to being the person I can recognize again as one of my favorite people alive.
So I ask, please donate what you can, even if it’s only a dollar. Write a nice message with your donation as words matter and go ahead and share this too! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Peace and love everyone!
-TMW
I need your help! One of my favorite people, my cousin Marcelo Dietrich, is going through some of life’s trials and tribulations and I wanna help him out, but it would be much more impactful if you could help him out along with me. Here’s his story:
Back when he was in high school he was diagnosed with a super rare form of throat cancer. He was only the 2nd person in Arizona diagnosed with it and the first to survive! But to survive he had to go through surgeries, chemo and radiation among other things. Unfortunately, what wasn’t known at the time was that the radiation would cause more long term damage than the cancer itself. It basically fried his saliva glands so he stopped producing saliva and for years afterwards he had to permanently carry a water bottle with him to constantly keep sipping water to keep his throat hydrated. Over the years his throat continued to deteriorate and get progressively worse. In the last couple of years it’s gotten to the point where he lost his voice and can no longer speak audibly. Most recently he even got a tracheotomy and feeding tube installed as he can no longer eat solid foods because he can’t swallow at all. Imagine losing your voice! There’s so many people out in the world fighting to symbolically be “heard” but at least they can still communicate with their fellow man. My cousin, who was an actor by trade, not only lost his livelihood, but also lost his ability to even communicate with his closest loved ones. This is especially sad if you know him cuz you’d know how charismatic he is and what a great story teller he can be. While this is bad enough, the part I think I would personally struggle with the most if I were in his shoes is the inability to eat. I LOVE food and it brings me so much joy in life! I’m definitely an emotional eater. (Ex: if I’m having a bad day, all it takes is some ice cream to cheer me up.) sorry about the tangent about me. Haha
Anyway, in addition to the medical troubles he’s lost his career due to them so money’s been especially tight. So for those reasons he’s been in a bit of a life funk right now. (Some would even call it depression.) He’s normally one of the most positive people I know, taking all these life challenges in stride. His positivity is usually an inspiration to so many around him. But in this funk I don’t even recognize him any more. He even recently posted that he’s not sure he’s glad he survived his original cancer diagnosis. This is when I really got concerned and NEEDED to take action and do something which leads to this Go Fund Me. In recent conversations he’s mentioned wanting to get an electro larynx voice box. They’re a few grand and I know he can’t currently afford one. So what I want to do is buy one for him, but what I thought I’d do is start a go fund me because instead of me just paying for it myself, what I want him to feel in addition to the gift of his voice is the wave of love from family, loved ones, friends and strangers. If each of you can donate as much as you can, but equally as important, use YOUR voice to write an encouraging message to go along with your donation I know it will be truly impactful in helping raise his spirits and I personally will be eternally grateful. While the electro larynx voice box is “only” a few thousand dollars I’m going to raise the goal to a larger amount in hopes that maybe somehow this goes viral and really blows up so maybe he can even save towards a larynx transplant surgery at the Mayo Clinic. even with insurance such a procedure would run into the tens of thousands of dollars. So not expecting to get to that amount, but if we can even get him started on that eventual dream maybe that will be enough to brighten his day and bring my beloved cousin back to being the person I can recognize again as one of my favorite people alive.
So I ask, please donate what you can, even if it’s only a dollar. Write a nice message with your donation as words matter and go ahead and share this too! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Peace and love everyone!
-TMW
Organizer and beneficiary
Michael Wong
Organizer
Chandler, AZ
Marcelo Dietrich
Beneficiary