Support René Zárate's Battle with Parkinson's

René Zárate is a devoted father of two and a wonderful, caring son, brother, uncle and friend. He is hardworking, loves cooking, enjoys sharing time with family and friends, has a dedicated passion for tennis, and loves fixing things and helping others. One of his most remarkable traits is his amazing ability to turn simple things into extraordinary ones. I’m not saying this only because I'm his daughter, but because it breaks my heart every time my father, a person who was once always so strong and capable, is now frustrated and frail from his illness.

This is why I’ve chosen to share his story - I miss my dad, his genuine smile, and his unwavering courage that always made life look easy. In 2017, he woke up thinking that he had a pinched nerve, but this soon developed into tremors. After many doctor visits, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at only 49 years old. As the disease progressed, he lost not only his confidence, but many of his normal abilities.

Parkinson’s Disease is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often causing tremors. It includes nerve cell damage in the brain causing dopamine levels to drop, leading to terrible symptoms. This disease usually progresses gradually, but stress or issues with medications can contribute to a sudden deterioration in symptoms, which unfortunately, has been my dad’s case.

In 2022, we lost his best friend, his mother. My grandmother Elvira was his strongest supporter. Their bond was so strong that her departure took a huge toll on his health. During the months in which he took care of his mother, his symptoms began to worsen, leaving him without the privilege to regularly work his job that involved manual labor. Due to this, after her passing and while still grieving, he lost his house which further aggravated his symptoms. As a consequence he is no longer capable of working, as he intermittently crashes into episodes that either send him to the hospital or confine him to bed due to illness. Despite his challenges, during the rare moments where he feels better, my dad still makes the immense effort to help others and find ways to work.

I wish and pray that I can help him soon, but for now, I am just a college student. On top of everything, after witnessing his car break down and become completely unusable, I realized I needed to ask for your help. To everyone who has taken the time to read about my dad, I hope you can contribute to help him acquire treatment and get him back on his feet.

I know that we can’t cure him, but together, we can show him that there is a world full of beautiful hearts that care for him and that miracles do exist. So, if my dad has ever made you smile, made your day a little better, or even if you just want to do a good thing today, I would deeply appreciate any help you can offer as it would monumentally help our family and change my dad’s future.

Thank you so much for reading.