Hello everyone. You may not have heard that long-time Sun Lakes area landscaper, Martin Ortega was severely injured on June 18 when he fell from our neighbor's very tall palm tree. He had just finished trimming our trees (photo). As a result of his fall, Martin broke all his ribs on one side and three on the other. He also suffered a punctured lung, a lacerated liver, and broke his pelvis in five places. He was in a coma and in ICU for the next six weeks. Martin is now out of the coma and has been transferred to a rehab facility in Scottsdale. Needless to say, his recovery is going to be a long one. He has lost so much weight that he is almost unrecognizable.

Martin is the sole breadwinner for his family. To make matters worse, after working for the HOA for a total of nineteen dedicated years, he was abruptly laid off for no apparent reason just a couple of weeks before the accident. Martin also worked in landscaping for many residents in this area. Everyone who knows him knows of his strong work ethic, friendly smile, and kindness. As you can imagine, with all the associated expenses coupled with the loss of income, financially this is devastating for Martin and his family. Even with insurance, his co-pays are overwhelming. For quite a long time, they are going to be dealing with the stress and burden of Martin’s lengthy recovery and the continuing financial hardship.

I am setting up this GoFundMe account to assist our friends as much as possible. Any contribution you can make will be immensely needed and appreciated. Remember too that this is going to be a marathon for these wonderful people, so ongoing support would be most helpful.