<div><strong>Summary: </strong>Alejandro Ceballos is a beloved community filmmaker who has been telling the stories of the struggles for resistance from Colombia to the US for decades. In February of this year at the age of 44, he suffered a sudden pulmonary embolism that caused two massive heart attacks and brain damage and he was hospitalized for 3 months. He is now relearning how to walk, talk and care for himself with the love and support of his friends, but is unable to work and urgently needs support now in order to continue his recovery in this limited window of time while it is still possible for his brain to heal. He does not have access to health insurance, so unless he can raise the money for intensive therapy in the next 6 months, we do not know if he will be able to fully recover his brain capacity, or his language or vision.
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<div><strong>Resumen:</strong> Alejandro Ceballos es un cineasta comunitario quien ha contado historias de lucha y resistencia en Colombia y Estados Unidos por décadas. En febrero de este año, a la edad de 44, sufrió una embolia pulmonar que provocó dos paros cardíacos masivos y daño cerebral y fue hospitalizado por 3 meses. Ahora está re-aprendiendo a caminar, hablar y cuidar de sí mismo con el amor y apoyo de sus amigos, pero no puede trabajar y necesita apoyo urgentemente para poder continuar con su recuperación. No tiene aceso al seguro medico, asi que a menos que puede recaudar los fondos para terapia recuperativa intensiva en los próximos seis meses, no sabemos si va a poder recuperar totalmente sus capacidades cerebrales, de lenguaje y visión.
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<div><em>En español abajo</em>
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<div><strong>Alejo wants to share his documentary films with everyone who donates!</strong>
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<li><strong>Donate any amount:</strong> <em>La Bahia de la Cruz</em>
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<li><strong>Donate over $50:</strong> <em>Chakero</em>
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<li><strong>Donate over $150:</strong> <em>Coal Skin</em> &amp; <em>Chakero</em>
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<div><strong>Donate over $250:</strong> <em>Granada </em><a href="https://youtu.be/YbUXfZa2WvE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(trailer)</a>, <em>Coal Skin</em> &amp; <em>Chakero</em>
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<div><strong>Alejo's Story</strong>
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<div>Alejo is a community film-maker and documentarian whose art has brought light to community struggles for resistance all over the world.
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<div>On February 1, 2023, Alejo had a pulmonary embolism and 2 heart attacks caused by a massive blood clot in his lung. He was kept alive by an ECMO machine which pumped all his blood outside his body to oxygenate it. Nobody knew whether Alejo would survive, let alone what the quality of his life would be if he did.
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<div>Alejo spent 5 days on the ECMO machine, followed by 1 month in the cardiac ICU, where they kept him in a state of coma to try to prevent further brain damage. He spent another month in the Medical ICU with a breathing tube and feeding tube. Unable to speak or move, he struggled with intense pain coupled with anxiety and panic.
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<div>He then began a slow recovery process which he has continued to this day surrounded by the love of his community. After his heart stabilized, he was moved to the main hospital floor, and eventually to a rehab facility. Slowly he regained some movement back that he had lost on the whole left side of his body, and worked with therapists to start talking, breathing, and eating on his own.
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<div>When he was finally able to speak again, he told his friends that he wanted to make a documentary about his experience. He asked his friends to begin filming him, and he has stayed committed to his vision to tell his story.
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<div>On May 5, Alejo left rehab. He and his partner Monica had to give up their 3rd floor apartment, and they are temporarily staying in a friend's living room while they try to look for accessible housing.
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<div>Alejo only has a few family members in the US, and when his mother and sister applied for an emergency visa to come from Colombia to be with him in the US, they were denied.
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<div>While this has been a grueling and heartbreaking experience, it has also been an experience of profound hope. Alejo’s partner and friends have accompanied him every single day from the moment he got to the hospital - sitting by his side, telling him stories and chisme, making him laugh, feeding him meals, playing him music, giving him reiki and massages. Even his medical team agreed that it was the power of love and community that carried him through a near-death experience that not everyone recovers from.
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<div><strong>Now Alejo is in a critical moment of his recovery and urgently needs support.</strong>
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<div><strong>The next 6 months are essential for his recovery and he must take advantage of his brain’s plasticity in this limited time. This requires 6 hours a day of physical and mental rehabilitation.</strong>
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<div>Alejandro does not have access to health insurance because his immigration status is in transition, which has meant that he has been unable to receive the care he needs. But we refuse to settle for scraps of care from a broken healthcare system. We believe in the power of community, and we are trying to raise $75,000 to support his rehabilitation over the next year.
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<div><strong>We are fundraising for the care Alejo needs for a full recovery:</strong>
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<div>Home Aide: 5 hrs/day, 6 days/week, at $25/hr - $3,000/month
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<div>Transportation (to medical appointments): $25/day, 4x week - $400/month
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<div>Rehabilitation Specialists (speech therapy, PT, OT, etc): 10 hrs/week at $50/hr - $2,000/month
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<div>Acupuncture (brain injury specialist): $75/session twice weekly - $600/month
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<div>For 1 year of care = $6,000 / month = $72,000
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<div>Security deposit &amp; first month rent for accessible housing = $3,000
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<div>TOTAL = $75,000
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<div>If you’re able to, we hope you can donate to give Alejo this chance at recovery so he can continue sharing his gifts with the world. Without support, we do not know if he will be able to recover his brain capacity, or his language or vision. To return to his life and his work making documentaries, he now has to relearn everything: to walk, talk, eat, dress himself, go to the bathroom, and live independently. He will only be able to fully recover if he has intensive therapy and rehabilitation over the next 6 months.
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<div>Thank you for any amount you can offer!
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<div>With love,
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<div>Alejo’s friends
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<div><strong>¡Alejo quiere compartir sus documentales con todos que donan!</strong>
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<div><strong>Cada donación</strong>: <em>La Bahia de la Cruz</em>
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<div><strong>Dona mas que $50:</strong> <em>Chakero</em>
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<div><strong>Dona mas que $150:</strong> <em>Coal Skin</em> y <em>Chakero</em>
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<div><strong>Dona mas que $250:</strong> <em>Granada </em><a href="https://youtu.be/YbUXfZa2WvE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(trailer)</a>, <em>Coal Skin </em>y <em>Chakero</em>
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<div><strong>La historia de Alejo: </strong>
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<div>Alejos es un cineasta y documentalista colombiano, cuyo arte ha iluminado luchas de resistencia en todo el mundo.
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<div>El 1 de febrero de 2023, Alejo tuvo una embolia pulmonar y dos ataques cardíacos causados por un coágulo masivo en su pulmón. Sobrevivió al ser conectado a una máquina ECMO que bombeó su sangre fuera de su cuerpo para oxigenarla. Nadie sabía si Alejo iba a sobrevivir, menos aún la calidad de vida que tendría de hacerlo.
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<div>Alejo estuvo conectado 5 días a la máquina ECMO y luego estuvo 1 mes la unidad de cuidados intensivos cardiacos, donde se le tuvo que inducir un estado de coma para preservar sus capacidades cerebrales. Durante el siguiente mes estuvo en la unidad de cuidados médicos, conectado a un respirador y un tubo para su alimentación. Inmovilizado y sin poder hablar, luchó con dolor intenso, ansiedad y pánico.
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<div>Después inició un proceso lento de recuperación que ha continuado hasta el día de hoy, rodeado del amor de su comunidad. Después de que su corazón se estabilizó, fue trasladado al piso general del hospital y, eventualmente, al centro de rehabilitación. Poco a poco ha recuperado la movilidad que había perdido completamente en el lado izquierdo de su cuerpo y ha trabajado con terapistas para poder hablar, respirar y comer por su cuenta.
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<div>Cuando finalmente pudo hablar de nuevo, le dijo a sus amigos que quería hacer un documental sobre su experiencia. Pidió a sus amigos que le filmaran y se ha mantenido comprometido a su visión de contar su historia.
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<div>El 5 de mayo, Alejo fue dado de alta del centro de rehabilitación. Él y su pareja, Mónica, renunciaron a su apartamento en un tercer piso y se mudaron a la sala de estar en el primer piso de la casa de sus amigos por ahora mientras buscan una vivenda accesible.
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<div>Alejo tiene pocos familiares en Estados Unidos y su mamá y hermana solicitaron una visa de emergencia para venir a acompañarlo, pero fue negada.
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<div>Aunque esta ha sido una experiencia agotadora y desgarradora, también ha sido una experiencia llena de esperanza. La pareja y les amigues de Alejo lo han acompañado cada día desde el momento en que llegó al hospital - sentándose a su lado, contándole historias y chismes, haciéndole reír, alimentándole, tocando música, dándole reiki, acupuntura y masajes. Hasta su equipo médico ha estado de acuerdo con que ha sido el poder del amor y la comunidad lo que lo alejó de esta experiencia cercana a la muerte, de la que no todos se recuperan.
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<div><strong>Ahora Alejo está en un momento crítico de su recuperación y necesita urgentemente el apoyo de su comunidad extendida. </strong>
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<div><strong>Los próximos seis (6) meses son esenciales para su recuperación y debe aprovechar la plasticidad de su cerebro en este tiempo limitado. Requiere 6 horas diarias de rehabilitación física y mental. </strong>
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<div>Alejandro no tiene acceso a seguro médico porque su estatus migratorio está en proceso, lo que ha significado que no recibe el cuidado médico que necesita. Pero nos rehusamos a resignarnos a las migajas de un sistema de salud roto. Creemos en el poder de la comunidad y queremos reunir $72,000 dólares para apoyar su rehabilitación en este próximo año.
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<div><strong>Estamos recaudando fondos para el cuido que necesita Alejo para recuperarse:</strong>
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<div>Ayuda en casa: 5 horas/día, 6 días/semana, a $25/hora = $3000/mes
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<div>Transporte (a citas médicas, acupuntura, etc): $25/día, 4 veces/semana = $400/mes
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<div>Especialistas de rehabilitación: (terapias física, ocupacional, del lenguaje, etc): 10 horas/semana a $50/hora = $2000/mes
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<div>Acupuntura (especialista en daño cerebral): $75/sesión dos veces por semana= $600/mes
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<div>Por 1 año de cuidado = $6000/mes = $72,000
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<div>Depósito de seguridad y un mes de renta en una vivienda accesible: $3,000
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<div>TOTAL = $75,000
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<div>Si es posible para ustedes, esperamos que puedan donar para darle la oportunidad a Alejo de recuperarse. Sin apoyo, no sabemos si va a poder recuperar sus capacidades cerebrales, de lenguaje y visión. Para poder regresar a su vida, a trabajar y producir documentales, requiere re-aprender todo: caminar, hablar, comer, vestirse solo, ir al baño, y vivir independiente. Solo puede lograr esto teniendo terapia recuperativa intensiva en los próximos seis meses.
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<div>¡Gracias por cualquier cantidad que puedan compartir!
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<div>Con amor ,
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<div>Las amistades de Alejo
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Diane Page Huey

Anonymous

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Alvaro Drake-Cortes

Patricia Chelius

Alexis Hernández

Sari Fogel

Temwa Wright

Julia Sportolari

Marcos Lopez

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Camila Narino

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