Prayers for Luis

Hi, My name is Shel and I am starting this fundraiser for my dear friend, Luis. I have been a part owner of our local Ace Hardware for the past 10 years, up until closing September 2021. Luis was a dedicated, hard-working, loyal employee and extension of our Ace Family from beginning to end. Those who knew Luis from Ace know that he was always helpful and had the funniest of stories to share. Luis has been married to his wife, Georgina, for over 40 years. Together they have two children (Michelle Contreras & JP Zavala), a beautiful granddaughter (Alexia), and a husky named Bingo. Luis loves spending the majority of his time going on walks and adventures with his granddaughter and pup.

 

In early October, Luis fell ill with severe fatigue, unexplained weight loss and yellowing of the skin, which lead him to be seen by a doctor. Routine blood work showed that he was bleeding internally. He was then told to go to the hospital immediately for treatment. There, he received an emergency blood transfusion & was admitted to the hospital for 4 days to identify the source of the bleed. He underwent an x-ray, CT scan, colonoscopy & many other tests, but the source of the bleed was unidentified. After being discharged from the hospital, Luis had a follow up blood test indicating the need for an additional transfusion. He returned back to emergency and received an additional transfusion and referral to a Gastroenterologist due to a diagnosis of Stage 4/End Stage non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, hemachromatosis and an autoimmune disorder associated with his psoriasis.

 

Here is why we need your help: In order to take the next steps in his treatment plan, Luis needs to be seen by a Gastroenterologist, continue weekly blood tests as well as other outpatient testing that is not covered by his insurance. Everything from this point forward is out of pocket, unless he is admitted to the hospital. Luis has been participating in research studies to help alleviate some of the financial burden, but it does not come close to the cost of even one of the tests he needs done. This week he had an outpatient abdominal ultra sound. The results should be in, in a few days. We are now reaching out to our loving community for assistance in getting Luis the help he needs and to show our love and support.