Richard's Fight Against Cancer

This is Richard Ray Abril Dillon ( the person on the left), a loving, caring, and fearless father who's been diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer. The person on the right is Ray Abril a.k.a "me" and together we can help him fight through this cancer. 

My name is Ray Abril and I am the son of this loving, caring, fearless father who dedicated himself to be the best father he can be. He is the type of father that would do anything to succeed to provide my mom, sister and I the best of this world without having a second thought about helping himself.  

He opened up his own business in landscaping in Charleston, working every weekday and sometimes weekends outside in the cold or heat weather. While his business was growing, he continued working with his employees, building a family with them and providing anything he could for them. His act of kindness and selflessness doesn't stop there, he would go out of his way to provide food to someone who’s homeless and help anyone who needs it. He always encouraged my sister and I to do the same to give back to our community and people we care about.

But, on October 30, 2019, my dad was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer. He had to stop working because his condition was becoming worse not being able to breathe normally and feeling fatigued every day. Furthermore, we found out that he's been having this cancer grow in him for years and we never saw the signs. He saw so many doctors and they all gave him different diagnoses, but none of them said it was cancer. 

The doctor that told me about my dad's diagnosis gave me a little bit of hope stating that there is a 90% chance of treatment. Unfortunately, the cancer has spread throughout his neck and infected some of his nerves and caused lung disease. 

But now we know, and Dr. Javid, this amazing endocrinologist surgeon from MUSC (Medical University of Charleston) is helping save my dad's life. She and her team completed surgery on my dad on November 21, 2019. The procedure took 12 hours to remove his thyroid and cancer on the right side of his neck, however, the left side of his neck is still infected. The procedure took too long that they couldn't keep my dad anesthetized because he was losing too much blood. 

This is after my dad's first surgery having his thyroid and cancer on the right side of his neck entirely removed. 

We are now patiently waiting for the next surgical appointment to remove the thyroid cancer from the left side of his neck. My dad recently applied for medical insurance, however, it wouldn't be activated until January and they won't help him cover any expenses from his first surgery. Still, my dad continues to be strong and faithful through these dark times encouraging us to do the same.

The next plan after his second surgery is for him to have iodine radiation pill therapy.  There is also a possibility of him having chemotherapy depending on his condition after the iodine radiation pill therapy, or after his second surgery. But as of right now he is slowly recovering from his first surgery and my family and I are thankful everything went well during his first surgery. 

The cost of all this has not been stated, however, we do know the total cost of his first surgery which is $140,000. My dad has sacrificed and given so much to my family and others. I would like to do the same for my dad, but I need your help. 

My goal is to raise $60,000 to pay off a big chunk of my dad's first surgical bill and with your support, donating $1, $5 or any amount will graciously help me achieve this goal little by little.

I thank you for your time to read my story and your support!