<div>Hello friends:
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<div>PLEASE NOTE FUNDRAISER IS IN PESOS not DOLLARS (21:1 rate)
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<div>Multiply your USD donation x 21 for correct rate.
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<div>500 USD = 10,500 pesos
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<div>100 USD = 2,100 pesos
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<div>In the next couple of months Sergio will need to do another round of cancer testing, exploratory procedures, a planned abdominal restructure surgery, as well as an observation/recovery period of a few weeks. <strong>We are estimating costs to reach $15,000 (or $315,000 pesos)</strong> and it’s with a hopeful heart that we are reaching out to you for help with these last steps needed to complete this much needed process.
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<div>We look forward to hearing from you and many thanks to those of you who are, in your own individual ways, already involved in Sergio's recovery.
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<div>LETTER FROM SERGIO:
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<div>Dear Friends and family, 2023 was a year that changed my life. While I was in the process of closing my ceramic studio in Mexico City I began experiencing health issues of various kinds; high blood sugar was the main symptom, rapid weight loss followed, and then basically a general unhealthy state. It was a big surprise for me as I have always enjoyed great stamina and proper health.
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<div>In the following months I made a move to Baja California near friends and family, and after a few more months of dealing with illness I discovered I was living with an invasive cancer tumor in my stomach about the size of a grapefruit, this sarcoma was robbing me of blood cells, nutrition, and basically my life. <strong>I was told I was in real danger of losing my life.</strong>
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<div>A year ago I underwent an emergency surgery which lasted 8 hours, successfully removing more than 5 lbs of cancer tissue. This left my body injured and weak; but also initiating a cautious journey to recovery which has been slow and painful. I am eternally grateful to the friends and family who saw me through this, both emotionally and financially.
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<div>As I write this I can recount the many times I heard of people in my circles afflicted by cancer; some achieving remission and some succumbing to their illness. People always saying “they were so brave, and strong”. Well, I was neither — I was weak and scared. I wondered quietly if I had seen the last of my luck and this was the end of my story. The months before the surgery were particularly rough. I was pricked and prodded, scanned, endoscopied, so many times that I became numb. They couldn’t operate until I reached a high blood count, and I couldn’t keep new blood in my system because the tumor drained it immediately. My body was in full rebellion against me and all I could do was hope for enough health to attack this cancer.
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<div>All through this process the most pain I felt was the looks I received. The sweet nurses with kind empathetic eyes, my surgeon who held my hand looking away and saying prayers before the surgery; friends and family whose fear I identified immediately and made me shudder; I knew they were looking at a 125 lb version of me they did not recognize. In that moment I knew my body had failed me, more importantly, that I had failed the social contract established with these people by my healthy self to be strong, caring, loud &amp; proud, full of joy, always finding solutions and attempting at wisdom in the face of life’s challenges. Friends, my road to health leads me back to who I am, to the person who is part of a community of people that love life and each other.
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<div>My journey back to health has been both harrowing and eye-opening. The body slowly recovers from trauma but the mind takes a little longer to process. After a year of monitoring and testing, not to mention therapy and meditation, <strong>I’m happy to say that I’m doing really well and arriving at the last of the treatment needed to complete recovery.</strong>
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<div><strong>...........</strong>
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<div>Queridos amigos y familiares: El 2023 fue un año que cambió mi vida. Mientras cerraba mi taller de cerámica en la Ciudad de México, comencé a experimentar diversos problemas de salud; el principal síntoma fue la hiperglucemia, seguida de una rápida pérdida de peso y, finalmente, un estado general de malestar. Fue una gran sorpresa para mí, ya que siempre he gozado de gran resistencia y buena salud.
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<div>En los meses siguientes me mudé a Baja California, cerca de amigos y familiares, tras unos meses de lidiar con la enfermedad, descubrí que vivía con un tumor canceroso invasivo en el estómago, del tamaño de una toronja. Este sarcoma me estaba robando células sanguíneas, nutrientes y, en esencia, la vida.<strong> En pocas palabras estaba en grave peligro de muerte.</strong>
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<div>Hace un año, me sometí a una cirugía de emergencia que duró 8 horas, en la que se extirparon con éxito más de 2 kilos de tejido canceroso. Mi cuerpo quedó herido y débil, por lo que inicié un proceso de recuperación cauteloso, lento y doloroso. Estoy eternamente agradecido con mis amigos y familiares por su apoyo emocional y económico.
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<div>Al escribir esto, recuerdo haber oído hablar de personas de mi entorno afectadas por el cáncer; algunas logrando la remisión y otras sucumbiendo a la enfermedad. La gente siempre decía: "Fueron tan valientes y fuertes". Yo no soy ninguna de las dos cosas: estaba débil y asustado. Me preguntaba en silencio si mi suerte había llegado a su fin y si este era el final de mi historia. Los meses previos a la cirugía fueron particularmente duros, me pincharon, me hicieron ecografías y endoscopias tantas veces que me quedé insensible. No podían operarme, necesitaba alcanzar un recuento sanguíneo alto pero no podía mantener la sangre nueva en mi organismo porque el tumor la drenaba inmediatamente. Mi cuerpo se revelaba contra mí, lo único que podía hacer era esperar a tener la salud suficiente para combatir este cáncer.
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<div>Las amables enfermeras con miradas amables y empáticas, mi cirujano que me tomó la mano, mirando hacia otro lado y orando antes de la cirugía; amigos y familiares cuyo miedo identifiqué de inmediato y me hizo estremecer; sabía que estaban viendo una versión de mí de 57 kilos que no reconocían. En ese momento supe que mi cuerpo me había fallado; más importante aún, qué había fallado al contrato social que mi yo saludable había establecido con las personas; ser robusto, fuerte, cariñoso, ruidoso y orgulloso, llena de alegría, siempre encontrando soluciones y buscando la sabiduría ante los desafíos de la vida. Amigos, mi camino hacia la salud me lleva de regreso a quien soy, a la persona que forma parte de una comunidad de personas que aman la vida y se aman mutuamente.
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<div>Mi recuperación ha sido a la vez desgarradora y reveladora. El cuerpo se recupera lentamente del trauma, pero la mente tarda un poco más en procesarlo.<strong> Después de un año de seguimiento, sin mencionar la terapia y la meditación, me alegra decir que estoy muy bien, llegando al final del tratamiento necesario para completar la recuperación. En los próximos meses necesito realizarme otra ronda de pruebas oncológicas, procedimientos exploratorios, una cirugía de reestructuración abdominal programada y un período de observación/recuperación de algunas semanas. Calculo que el costo alcanzará $315,000mn y con gran esperanza, les pido ayuda con estos últimos pasos para completar este proceso tan necesario.</strong>
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<div>Espero tener noticias suyas, muchas gracias a quienes a su manera, ya participan en mi recuperación.
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Alejandra España Natera

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Our SERGIO Medical urgency $15k NOTE: amounts in MEX pesos

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You’re supporting Our SERGIO Medical urgency $15k NOTE: amounts in MEX pesos

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