Maria's brother is currently in the hospital (since feb 23, 2026), facing a severe and unexpected medical condition (raptured abdominal aortic aneurysm or AAA) that has changed his life and the lives of his family overnight. Until his recent hospitalization, none of us realized just how serious his illness was, and the diagnosis has been a shock to everyone who loves him. After a month (surgery to repair of AAA) my brother had dehiscence of surgical site, causing his abdominal organs to be exposed. He underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy, during the procedure they found out that the graft they used to repair the anuerysm was infected. The cardiovascular surgeon decided to create an axillo bi- femoral graft as he intend to remove the infected graft. Later they have decided to do antibiotic clysis instead of removing the graft. Ricky (my brother), was in life support for few weeks cause his vitals were unstable. He's on vasopressors and has no urine output So he was also on dialysis for days. His cultures showed some growth and he is manage on antibiotics. He's on enteral feeding and they're starting his rehab. His wife, children, siblings, and I are doing everything we can to support him, but the challenges are immense.

One of the most difficult aspects is the cost of his daily medication (he has 2 abscess in the graft and the doctors said he will be on strong antibiotics for the rest of his life) and the ongoing hospital and doctor expenses that continue to add up. Our family has already depleted our resources trying to keep up with these costs, and we are now at a point where we need to ask for help.

We are reaching out to our community, friends, and anyone who can offer support to help give my brother the best chance at recovery. Your contribution, no matter the size, will make a meaningful difference in his fight for life and will help ease the financial strain on his wife, children and siblings. Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and for standing with us during this incredibly difficult time.