Please Donate & Support Carlos in Fighting Cancer

Hello, thank you for visiting this GoFundMe page that I created for my father, Carlos Blanco. I value your kindness and interest in supporting my dad, Carlos, who is one of the most giving, intelligent, gentle-spirited humans that are so rare to find in this lifetime. Carlos has been a diligent and disciplined worker all his life. He has been working as an electrician for over a decade, and is an esteemed employee of I.M. Electric, a small business based in South Florida. Today, he needs your help.

My name is Natalia. I am Carlos’ eldest daughter. I live with my 10-year-old son Julian in the Washington, D.C area, but I spent my teenage years and also gave birth to my son in Boynton Beach, our home town. I created this page because it has become increasingly difficult for my parents to make ends meet after we had to face the very difficult news as a family about my dad’s gastric cancer diagnosis.

After spending the last 68 years of his life enjoying good health, maintaining healthy habits (never smoked or did drugs or alcohol in his life), and having a clear physical exam every year, in December 2023, my dad faced the most unexpected turning point in his life. Shortly after doing some chores around his house as he normally did some weekends, he found himself struggling to breathe. My mom, his wife of 40 years, recognized the fatigue and shortness of breath that were atypical for my dad, worrisome, and a good reason to take him to the closest Emergency Room (ER) as the symptoms worsened through the day.

We were devastated to learn that what started out as a dry cough would land my dad in the ER one day. He was subsequently hospitalized for a pleural effusion on his left lung, and learned that he had lost 80% of function in the left lung due to the fluid accumulation. We welcomed the 2024 year with the sad news that the fluid build-up in my dad’s left lung was just a sign to a bigger underlying issue: widespread (metastatic) cancer that had originated in his stomach. With no prior symptoms of any kind, a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer has been both surprising and extremely difficult for our family to absorb. My dad didn’t have plans to retire yet. His normal strength and stoicism had him determined to continue working to help him and my mother meet their financial goals. He was also in no hurry because he very much enjoyed the social aspects of the job, always having incredible appreciation for his boss and co-workers that kept him in good spirits. He has been working hard to plan for his full retirement a little bit differently than most people because my dad became a citizen in the United States and moved the entire family to Florida when he was a mid-career civil engineer back in his birth country of Costa Rica. His career switch as an adult delayed their ability to plan for retirement. Since his diagnosis and hospitalization in December 2023-January 2024, my father had to drastically change his plans for the future. He has been unable to go to work, and while he remains hopeful, the chemotherapy symptoms are making his return very difficult. My mom had to also quit her job to help care for my dad at home since their insurance policy only covered the at-home nurse for a short period of time and the benefit is no longer afforded to my dad. The costs of long term care are unaffordable for my parents. The nurse that had routinely drained his lung fluid weekly taught my mother how to do it herself. As a home health aide by training, my mother had no choice but to quit her job and devote her time to care for my father’s medical needs.

At the moment, they have nearly $3,000 in medical bills to pay in addition to more co-insurance payments to make for chemotherapy treatments and other medical appointment costs that continue to accumulate. Since my parents are no longer receiving any pay, we are kindly asking for donations to support their living expenses and the current medical expenses they have to face moving forward.

Please consider donating and if you or anyone in your family can relate to my dad’s story, my family would be eternally grateful for your support. I am most fortunate to have been raised by this amazing man of admirable character and I can tell you that asking for help is not easy for any of us, especially my dad who takes pride in being our family’s caretaker his whole life. But their situation continues to evolve and it is clear to us that any type of donation can truly be life changing for my parents who are struggling to meet their basic daily needs.

if you have any questions please send along! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generosity and support!

best,

Natalia