Rios Family Support Fund
Donation protected
Anyone who knows Gabriella and Christian knows that they are amazing, hardworking people. Their twin boys, Travis and Ryan, were born very prematurely almost two years ago, but they never asked for financial help despite the thousands of dollars of medical bills (after insurance!) that they still have left to pay. However, they are now faced with a whole new set of challenges and medical expenses, as Christian was recently injured in an accident, leaving both him and Gabriella unable to work.
Gabriella and Christian learned she was pregnant in January of 2013, when Gabriella was 21 years old and just starting her second semester at Cal State Long Beach. She had to drop her classes, but continued to work full time. After having to go to the hospital in April due to an infection 18 weeks into her pregnancy, she and Christian found out they were having twins!
On July 12th, 2013, Gabriella went to the ER for severe pain, only to find out she had been in labor for 3 days, while she was only 27 weeks pregnant. She was given a steroid injection to speed up development of the babies’ lungs. After efforts to stall delivery failed, Gabriella had to have an emergency C-section on July 13th, 2013, 13 weeks early.
Travis weighed 3 lbs and 0.4 oz, while Ryan weighed only 2lbs and 1.2 oz. They spent 2 months in the NICU fighting for their lives, but they made it!
The boys are healthy and doing well, but still receive therapy, particularly Ryan, who has developmental delays due to his prematurity.
Even after insurance, Gabriella and Christian were left with about $50,000 to pay in medical expenses. They have yet to start paying it off as they have been working hard just to pay their normal bills and provide for Travis and Ryan.
Christian was working 6 days a week between his two jobs as a gardener/landscaper during the day, and a delivery driver at night. Gabriella returned to school full time in August 2014 to finish her BA in Design at CSULB, but was working part time to help with their bills as much as possible. Christian rode a motorcycle to save time on his early morning commute from Long Beach to Los Angeles.
On Monday, May 4th, 2015, Christian was on his way home from running errands when a car made a left turn in front of him as he was riding straight on a green light. Unable to swerve to avoid the vehicle, Christian t-boned the car, causing him to fly over it at least 20 feet. His motorcycle was destroyed on impact and caught fire.
Christian was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and trauma surgery was performed that night to place an external fixation device in his severely broken wrist to keep his bones in place, as they had separated entirely from his hand and protruded from his skin. He also broke both of his feet. He was hospitalized for 4 days and then released home to let the swelling go down.
On May 20th, 2015, Christian had surgery that ended up lasting over 8 hours because they kept finding more damage. They placed pins, plates and wires in his right foot and wrist, and used cadaver bone since he was missing so much bone from it crushing on impact. He remained in the hospital for 3 days.
Christian is now home with Gabriella and the boys, but he is immobile. With casts on both his broken feet and one arm, he needs assistance for all daily routines, including using the bathroom. He is wheelchair bound when he is up, which isn’t very often since it’s uncomfortable for him. He needs a blood thinner injection daily because he is at risk for blood clots.
Every appointment, every hospital stay, and every surgery comes with its own copay. Every appointment requires medical transport services with a wheelchair lift that their insurance won’t pay for. Along with a wheelchair rental, prescription medications and other items necessary for his recovery, they’ve already been hit with over $3,500 in just a matter of weeks.
His recovery time is expected to be a minimum of 6 months, but more likely a year. He will need an extensive amount of physical and occupational therapy for an unknown amount of time. He will most likely have arthritis in the future, and it is highly probably he will need more surgery later on because of it.
Christian will need to learn how to walk again. They were told he will walk with a limp and will most likely need special shoes with orthopedic soles. They were also told he will not be able to run or jump again.
Their current bills are about $4,000 per month, and Christian’s medical bills keep coming. Although he will receive some disability, it is unlikely to be near his usual wages. Gabriella has had to stop working in order to take care of Christian, and won’t be able to return until he is well enough to take care of himself. Her classes at CSULB start again in August, but she may have to put school on hold again depending on Christian’s recovery.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Gabriella, Christian, Travis and Ryan have been through so much in the past couple years, but they need our love and support now more than ever.
Any and all help will make a difference for this incredible family!
Gabriella and Christian learned she was pregnant in January of 2013, when Gabriella was 21 years old and just starting her second semester at Cal State Long Beach. She had to drop her classes, but continued to work full time. After having to go to the hospital in April due to an infection 18 weeks into her pregnancy, she and Christian found out they were having twins!
On July 12th, 2013, Gabriella went to the ER for severe pain, only to find out she had been in labor for 3 days, while she was only 27 weeks pregnant. She was given a steroid injection to speed up development of the babies’ lungs. After efforts to stall delivery failed, Gabriella had to have an emergency C-section on July 13th, 2013, 13 weeks early.
Travis weighed 3 lbs and 0.4 oz, while Ryan weighed only 2lbs and 1.2 oz. They spent 2 months in the NICU fighting for their lives, but they made it!
The boys are healthy and doing well, but still receive therapy, particularly Ryan, who has developmental delays due to his prematurity.
Even after insurance, Gabriella and Christian were left with about $50,000 to pay in medical expenses. They have yet to start paying it off as they have been working hard just to pay their normal bills and provide for Travis and Ryan.
Christian was working 6 days a week between his two jobs as a gardener/landscaper during the day, and a delivery driver at night. Gabriella returned to school full time in August 2014 to finish her BA in Design at CSULB, but was working part time to help with their bills as much as possible. Christian rode a motorcycle to save time on his early morning commute from Long Beach to Los Angeles.
On Monday, May 4th, 2015, Christian was on his way home from running errands when a car made a left turn in front of him as he was riding straight on a green light. Unable to swerve to avoid the vehicle, Christian t-boned the car, causing him to fly over it at least 20 feet. His motorcycle was destroyed on impact and caught fire.
Christian was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and trauma surgery was performed that night to place an external fixation device in his severely broken wrist to keep his bones in place, as they had separated entirely from his hand and protruded from his skin. He also broke both of his feet. He was hospitalized for 4 days and then released home to let the swelling go down.
On May 20th, 2015, Christian had surgery that ended up lasting over 8 hours because they kept finding more damage. They placed pins, plates and wires in his right foot and wrist, and used cadaver bone since he was missing so much bone from it crushing on impact. He remained in the hospital for 3 days.
Christian is now home with Gabriella and the boys, but he is immobile. With casts on both his broken feet and one arm, he needs assistance for all daily routines, including using the bathroom. He is wheelchair bound when he is up, which isn’t very often since it’s uncomfortable for him. He needs a blood thinner injection daily because he is at risk for blood clots.
Every appointment, every hospital stay, and every surgery comes with its own copay. Every appointment requires medical transport services with a wheelchair lift that their insurance won’t pay for. Along with a wheelchair rental, prescription medications and other items necessary for his recovery, they’ve already been hit with over $3,500 in just a matter of weeks.
His recovery time is expected to be a minimum of 6 months, but more likely a year. He will need an extensive amount of physical and occupational therapy for an unknown amount of time. He will most likely have arthritis in the future, and it is highly probably he will need more surgery later on because of it.
Christian will need to learn how to walk again. They were told he will walk with a limp and will most likely need special shoes with orthopedic soles. They were also told he will not be able to run or jump again.
Their current bills are about $4,000 per month, and Christian’s medical bills keep coming. Although he will receive some disability, it is unlikely to be near his usual wages. Gabriella has had to stop working in order to take care of Christian, and won’t be able to return until he is well enough to take care of himself. Her classes at CSULB start again in August, but she may have to put school on hold again depending on Christian’s recovery.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Gabriella, Christian, Travis and Ryan have been through so much in the past couple years, but they need our love and support now more than ever.
Any and all help will make a difference for this incredible family!
Organizer and beneficiary
Amelia Coyle
Organizer
Long Beach, CA
Gabriella Toledo
Beneficiary