My name is Amelia and I am Pedro’s sister. Our family has been dealt some bad hands before, but we have always found a way to get through - through the grace of God and an abundance of prayers and help from our loved ones.

Our incredible support system saw us through my brother’s diabetic scares and even kidney cancer in 2017. But we are now facing one of our biggest trials: my brother is currently in end stage renal failure and has just been added to the transplant list, at just 30 years old. He has about 15% operation of his kidneys left before the situation becomes worse. He has been given 5 months before they think he will reach total failure.

As a family, we have been working on our end to do everything we can to extend those 5 months. We have emptied our accounts, taken out loans, and taken off work and school. We have also changed our diets, adopted healthier lifestyles, and are working to try our best to be the donor he needs.

We have never been able to do this alone. Many of you reading this gave us rides, said prayers for us, bought us meals, sat with us, paid for medicines, and most recently, helped us come up with the money for the first of what will be many surgeries.

We are not people who ask for help easily. We pride ourselves on finding a way, even if it means intense sacrifices on our end. But friends: we are out of sacrifices. We have exhausted our financial resources and are humbly coming to you, seeking your help.

We (hopefully and prayerfully) still have a long road ahead. And even with insurance, the bills and the medications and the time off of work has stacked against us, but we refuse to let finances be the reason why my nephew has to lose his father. Why my mother has to lose a son. Why my siblings and I have to lose a brother. And why countless people have to lose a beloved cousin, coworker, and friend.

Please consider donating what you can to help us afford everything that has already hit and will hit in the days to come. Every penny raised will be used to help us prolong my brother’s life and hopefully, one day soon, will help us pay for a new kidney. And with any luck and blessing, if we have extra, we are happy to pass that along to another family facing the same dilemma.

We are fully aware that money is not something people have extra of these days, so above all, we ask for your prayers. We are fully confident with God on our side and you our support system, we will get through and have years of laughs left with my brother.