Matthew Fuentes Needs YOUR Help...

Hi all,

Matthew's dad (Ted), has written his story (at the very bottom of this section) about how Matthew (12) ended up in the hospital.  There's more information above that, detailing Matthew's condition, and above that are "Updates".

Matthew was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia two weeks ago and has been waiting for platelets for almost a week because of a critical shortage. He's a great, young, always-smiling boy, but he's very sick.  


Aplastic Anemia is a condition that occurs when your body stops producing enough new blood cells.   Aplastic anemia leaves you with risk of infections and *uncontrolled bleeding.* It's a RARE and SERIOUS condition.  A normal platelet count is 125 -- he’s at 7.  We're simultaneously running a blood drive to generate donors for his rare RH- blood type.

Matthew is being treated at CHOC Hospital (Children's Hospital Orange County), which is one of best children's hospitals in the nation.  ***They only see 1-3 cases of Aplastic Anemia in one year.  That's how rare it is.***



Matthew has had TEN transfusions in 13 days and one platelet IV.  He's undergoing a multitude of tests as they try to stabilize him.  He'll need to have chemotherapy and then a bone marrow transplant.  He'll be in isolation for a long time. 

Matthew’s nine year-old brother Ethan. has been deemed the match for his bone marrow transplant. Understandably, both boys are very scared.  Here's a photo of Matthew and Ethan taken early into Matthew's hospital stay.  Matthew is Ethan's hero.




The Fuentes family needs our help.  Ted Fuentes, the boys' dad, is a single dad with sole custody.  The boys' mom hasn't been part of their lives in years.  He's also a United States Air Force Veteran, serving as a Crew Chief from 1986-1992 

Ted will be forced to take a leave of absence from work for at least
three months, probably four.  There will be no source of income for
this family.  The medical bills are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.  They need your help.  We had to beg Ted to let us help
him with this GoFundMe site.  He's very humbled.  Incredibly grateful.


Ted has already missed two weeks of work and will miss another four
months... their need is pretty urgent.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much, in advance for
your donations.  Every little bit counts.  Thank you, thank you, thank
you.


******* UPDATE: 4/25/19 1pm*******
Update: Today is Day 13. It’s been a rough day. Matthew has had 10 transfusions and the doctor told him this morning that he won’t be returning to school. He said he’ll be in the hospital at least 100 days after his bone marrow transplant, so he’ll miss the entire summer. 12 year-old boys LIVE for summer! Any young boy being told he’ll be stuck in a hospital bed for four months is bummed. He also has to go through chemotherapy.

CHOC only sees 1-3 cases of Aplastic Anemia in a YEAR.

Matthew’s nine year-old brother Ethan. has been deemed the match for his bone marrow transplant. Understandably, both boys are scared. So tough.  Here's a photo of Matthew and Ethan taken early into Matthew's hospital stay.


No date yet on the surgery - he’s undergoing tests now. And has to do chemo first. ☹️  But look at his sweet smile.

Thank you so much for those of you willing to donate blood/platelets - your patience is sooooo appreciated. We’ve learned that blood has a somewhat short shelf life - and he’ll need it for surgery (date TBA) and for weeks to come. CHOC is scheduling donations accordingly. ❤️

Ted is so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you. I’ve shared all the “likes”, “hearts”, comments, and private messages. He says it restores faith in humanity. Ted is holding on to faith strongly. If you’re willing to pray for these three, it would be wonderful - it’s needed.

He’s the sole parent to both of these boys. Their mom hasn’t been in their lives for years. Obviously Ted won’t be able to work for months... and the medical bills will be hundreds of thousands of dollars. We offered (and convinced) Ted to let us start a GoFund Me for the boys and him. He was humbled... and accepted.

I’ll post it once we’ve got it up. Ted is so overwhelmed with everything going on at the hospital, doctors, tests, tending to his boys that he’s doing his best to get us everything we need.

You guys are AWESOME. What a blessing this “extended family” is. I’m blessed to know (or “virtually know”) each of you. ❤️

Thanks for being part of this journey,
Diane ❤️
___________________________


One of our neighbors, Ted Fuentes, who is a veteran and a single dad with sole custody of his boys needs our help URGENTLY. PLEASE.

His twelve year-old son, Matthew was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia last week and has been waiting for platelets for almost a week because of a critical shortage. He's a great young boy and he's very very sick.

Aplastic Anemia is a condition that occurs when your body stops producing enough new blood cells. Aplastic anemia leaves you with risk of infections and *uncontrolled bleeding.* It's a RARE and SERIOUS condition.

*** Matthew is in VERY URGENT, DIRE NEED of RH negative platelets. Normal is 125, he’s at 7. *** Anyone with any blood type can also donate blood in his name and CHOC can use certain parts of your blood to help him.

We DESPERATELY need anyone willing to donate to help. Matthew is at CHOC in Orange and the donations are being taken at that location. Please make sure to tell the Blood Donor Center that it's a direct donation for Matthew Fuentes. If you have any questions, please ask them down below.

Matthew's family members cannot donate any blood products now because they don't want Matthew to develop antibodies if they become his bone marrow transplant donor.

----------------------------------------------------------
Directly from Ted:

“Friday night I bumped into a dear friend (Mabel Cortes) at my favorite Friday night hangout, Toni Pepperoni. She has her PhD in cell biology and commented that my son Matthew’s skin coloring was not healthy and asked if she could take a look at him. I said absolutely. She evaluated him and said I needed to get him to the ER. Saddleback ER did bloodwork on my boy and he was transported to CHOC at 2:30am.

Matthew has received 5 blood transfusions and one platelet IV since we’ve been here.

I'm asking my network if you would please stop by CHOC and donate platelets or blood on his behalf. Doesn’t matter what your blood type is.

Your prayers are appreciated and welcome. My boys are my world.

Matty is a strong kid and we’re gonna beat this together!”

MORE INFO CAN BE FOUND AT: https://www.choc.org/programs-services/blood-donor-services