At 17, Miguel, affectionately known by his friends and family as Miguelito, began to feel constant pain in his back and legs. Initially, he believed he had strained something while working out in the gym or surfing at the beach near his small village in Mexico, however the pain began to worsen. His family grew more and more concerned as his pain became debilitating. Miguelito and his family traveled to a doctor, who immediately referred him to a specialist. Stating the urgency of the matter, the doctor got them an appointment the following week.

At the specialist they learned that Miguelito has an intradural extramedullary spinal tumor.  His tumor is growing on the spine, compressing his spinal cord and nerves. In order for Miguelito to potentially return to a normal life he needs to have surgery, and he needs to have it fast. This type of tumor grows rapidly, and the doctor informed the family that if he does not complete Miguelito's surgery by the end of July, the tumor will have grown to a new point, making it more complicated and more costly. If not treated, Miguelito's spinal cord and nerves will continue to be compressed by the tumor.

Miguelito wakes up every morning now, not only in debilitating pain, but questioning whether or not the money will be raised for his surgery.   Questioning, whether at the age of 17 he will no longer be able to live out his dreams of going to surf competitions or eventually having a family of his own and being able to play with his own children. He wakes up with the looming possibility of becoming paralyzed before he turns 20 years old on his mind. The scariest thing he wakes up with, is knowing that one surgery should take away all of his pain and fears, but that money is the only thing standing in his way.

Miguelito's family have always lived below the poverty line in a small, beach-side village in Mexico. The village's entire economy has been dependent on tourism for the last 20 years, and with the affects of Covid-19 their economy has come to a standstill. With no money coming into the household, and quickly approaching deadline, Miguelito's family must raise $11,000 just to cover the cost of the surgery. The road to recovery will be long and difficult, but without the surgery the tumor will continue to grow and will eventually remove his ability to walk, forcing him to live in a wheel chair, potentially for the rest of his life.

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