Support Samuel's Fight Against Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Dear friends, colleagues, all the kind people who are willing to help,

My name is Yuliya Linhares and I am a lymphoma and transplant physician at Miami Cancer Institute. I need to your support to help my patient, 19 year old Samuel, survive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

19 year old Samuel and his dad are from Guatemala, and have been in the US as migrant farm workers for a couple of years. Samuel and his dad have been working hard in the fields of Homestead, Florida. For his young age, Samuel has been extensively exposed to multiple agricultural chemical which may have contributed to him developing high risk acute myeloid leukemia.

Samuel has been an incredible fighter, he has been through several AML relapses and many rounds of toxic chemotherapy. He is finally in remission, and the only way to save his life is a bone marrow transplant from a donor. His dad is a match and is ready to help his son and donate stem cells for bone marrow transplant.

Samuel and his dad have been living on a meager day-to-day salary they get in cash from working in the fields. For example, Samuel's dad spent his whole day salary on an Uber to get Samuel to my appointment, and then he was unable to pay $3 for a needed medication.

Luckily, we have charity funds to help with the transplant and all the medications, but for Samuel to undergo transplant, his dad has to take 3 months off work to take care of him daily after this difficult procedure. Samuel's dad will have to be on guard monitoring Samuel for fevers or any other signs of infection, bring him to our clinics 2-3 times a week, cook and clean for him. During this time, Samuel and his dad will remain without any income, unable to pay for rent and food.

I am asking for your help to raise a total of $2000 which should cover Samuel's and his dad's living expenses during the post-transplant period. This money will literally save Samuel's life.

I am eternally grateful for your kindness and help!

Sincerely,

Yuliya Linhares, MD

(I am unable to include this patient's picture for privacy reasons)

Here is a reference to read more about the migrant farm workers, who are essential workers for the US food supply.

https://ediblesouthflorida.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/meet-your-farmworker

"The University of Florida estimates that the United States hires about 1 million farmworkers within the country. Of that 1 million, about 105,700 live and work in Florida, harvesting about 300 different types of produce, from avocados to watermelon. They come from different places. In the last 15 years, Title I Program Director Eduardo Barreiro says he’s seen a more diversified shift in farmworkers who live on federally funded labor camps in Homestead. Of about 800 families living at the three South Dade camps, he says that about 60 percent of them are Mexican, 30 percent are Guatemalan, Honduran or Salvadorean and about 5-10 percent are Cuban.

Most are seasonal workers. They stay in Homestead for about 8 to 10 months before going to other states during the off-season. Farmers living in the South Dade, Redland and Everglades labor camps continue to pay rent for these homes while they work out of state from May through July. “Homestead, Florida is a home state,” Barreiro says. The three local labor camps are considered by many to be a national model of providing adequate housing for farmworkers, who would otherwise be homeless while they worked on the fields. These facilities give farmworkers a place to truly call home."