Support Dawn and Hector Carcamo during this challenging time.

Those of you who have met Dawn and seen her and Hector together know of the very special bond that they share. The unlikely couple was destined to come together when on the first day that they met, Dawn accidentally told Hector that she loved him when trying to ask him his name in Spanish! Two beautiful souls from New York/Virginia and Honduras collided, and it is safe to say that people around the world have since been changed by meeting this dynamic duo! Dawn was soon introducing Hector as her new boyfriend and "novio", and not long after they were married in a beautiful Christmas wedding. Going strong ever since, it is hard to believe that they have been together just over ten years now.

Recently, their love journey has taken a devastating turn, and I am prompted to reach out to loved ones for financial assistance as Dawn navigates numerous hefty medical bills in both Virginia and Honduras.

Just four months ago, Hector was admitted to the hospital with a minor stroke. This was a shock, because Hector was the youngest, strongest, and healthiest 60s man I know! Whatever was going on, he was sure to recover quickly because that's who Hector is, I believed.... but that was only the beginning.

What doctors thought was a small blood clot ended up being several small blood clots with a mysterious origin. The doctors put him on blood thinners and ran many tests on him, trying to find the source of his blood clots and dropping blood counts. A scope of his stomach to look for an ulcer revealed a large mass that was bleeding heavily and intensified by blood thinners. This mass turned out to be stage 4 stomach cancer, and the road to try to get treatment and minimize pain levels for Hector has been a treacherous one, to say the least.

Hector has undergone numerous operations to control the bleeding tumor, multiple blood transfusions, weeks of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and every sort of test, procedure, and disappointment with the doctors not knowing quite what to do with him and having limited ability to help his situation. Throughout the past few months it has been a constant balancing act to control the bleeding from the tumor while also trying to control the blood clots in circulation. Hector has suffered multiple strokes over the past month.

Dawn left her career as a teacher in June to support Hector and manage the many medical appointments and Hector's changing health condition. She has been living off her last few months of teaching income and quickly depleted her savings from making payments on medical bills. In addition to the medical bills in Virginia, the couple has expenses from their travel to Honduras so that Hector can spend this precious time with his family back home, and the ongoing cash payments to doctors to provide blood transfusions and pain management there. With Hector's deteriorating condition and Dawn being unable to work at this time, medical and other expenses are piling up.

Let's join our hearts together in supporting Dawn and Hector during this season. Your financial contribution can bring comfort to Dawn while she manages the stressors of Hector's condition and endless unknowns of what they will face next.