Support Steve Sanchez's Fight for Life

Hello, my name is Park Romney and this is not the post I want to have to make, but one of my best friends in my life since 6th grade, who is like a brother to me, Steve Sanchez, needs all the prayers, well wishes, and healing vibes we can all send out.

Steve was rushed to the hospital 2 weeks ago because he was struggling to breathe. He was checked into Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage. The doctors could not figure out what was causing his lungs to shut down, and he progressively got worse to the point where he had to go into ICU and be put on a ventilator. He was able to slightly recover and was removed from the ventilator and moved back into the general hospital on high-flow oxygen.

After another week in the hospital, the results of his tests determined that he had a rare autoimmune disease, Anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis, which is a subtype of dermatomyositis characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against the melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5). It's known for its unique mucocutaneous and systemic manifestations, including skin ulcerations, palmar papules, arthritis, and a high risk of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD).

Suddenly, things took a turn for the worse, and he was unable to breathe and was rushed to the ICU to go back on the ventilator. He was still struggling to breathe with the ventilator at first before they were able to stabilize his breathing. He was accepted to UCSD Hospital and took a life flight helicopter to that hospital to undergo new life-saving procedures and be put on an ECMO machine while awaiting a possible lung transplant.

Please keep him and his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers or healing vibes and energy or whatever you believe in, all is welcome as he continues to fight for his life!

We continue to keep the faith and hope he will pull through this and will be playing his guitar and hitting his 320-yard drives on the golf course again, but it’s going to be a long, hard journey. He will need support from his loving girlfriend Nicole and sister Jessica, who have taken time off work to be by his side throughout this entire strenuous process.

We’re now trying to raise money to help alleviate some of the stress and financial burden this has created in all of their lives, from taking time off work to travel expenses to go to San Diego to be with him, as well as to help cover Steve’s personal bills when he can’t work. Although fortunately he does have medical insurance, there will still be out-of-pocket expenses that need to be covered. So if you have the financial means to give anything to help them, it would be greatly appreciated. Every dollar counts, even if it’s only 1 dollar or 5 dollars; it is desperately needed at this time so that Nicole and Jessica can remain nearby and continue to give Steve the love and support he deserves as he continues to battle this extremely rare autoimmune disease. Thank you and God bless.