Vira’s Journey

As many of you know Vira is a kind, thoughtful, and very generous soul. By nature she’s constantly thinking of how to help others. Even in her career she has dedicated herself to help the most challenging students in very difficult situations. She supports teachers, staff, and parents with the education of the neediest students around. This is her greatest passion. And in our family, I can’t even begin to describe what a huge support she is for all of us without breaking down. (#truth) 

Vira has had quite a journey these last couple of years, as some of you may know, she’s had a few medical issues in the past. She has said to me before, “You gotta get up, put your big girl pants on, and move forward.” That’s exactly what Vira has done these last couple of years. God may have given her lemons, but this lady has learned to make some ceviche. Some pretty darn delicious ceviche if you ask me! Vira’s life story is the definition of preserverence. 

However, during this last visit to the doctor Vira had some unusual test results which prompted her doctor to recommend more blood work last Thursday. Long story short, these tests came up positive for Leukemia. After more tests and a bone marrow biopsy, it was confirmed that Vira was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive yet treatable cancer. Vira is now on her fourth day of chemotherapy!

No one truly ever knows why these things happen to good people, but what I do know is that Vira is a tough ass cookie! If anyone can get through this, it’s totally her. Vira is courageous, full of positivity and faith. But now it’s time for us to be there for her. Now it’s time to show her that she can rest and heal without worrying about anything else...

The goal for this campaign is really to provide a plan B for Vira and Sergio. This is really a fund for extra expenses that healthcare and disability insurance plans might not cover. We just want Vira to focus on healing and recovering...

Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. However, a  non-monitary way to help during Vira’s journey is to donate whole blood, platelets, or sign up to be a bone marrow donor. Please call the City of Hope at [phone redacted] for an appointment. 

Thank you so much for all your support!!! 

Check back in for updates.
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Just a little FYI
This is a “non-Vira approved” fundraiser. Being the ultimate giver that she is, she really didn’t want this kind of thing to get started for her. She was saying how truly blessed she is to have their medical insurance plans and their savings to depend on. Being the rebel niece that I am, I went ahead and posted this fundraiser ‍♀️. I wonder where I get that from... So we can call this an ***awareness campaign**** instead.

My Tia would like to raise awareness about leukemia. She would like to get the word out about how little is actually known out there about this type of cancer until it hits close to home, and how it really affects the Latino community yet there is a limited number of registered bone marrow donor’s who are Latino. She would like to get the word out there that this year the City of Hope hospital had to reach out to other hospitals for blood transfusions, because this year they had a reduced number of blood donations. Did you guys know that even if you are not a direct blood match with someone at City of Hope they can still use your red blood cells? Or did you know that even if you are not a direct blood match you can still donate platelets to a patient at City of Hope?

I’m working closely with my Tia’s coworkers who are interested in organizing a blood drive at their office. More info soon to come!

Thank you for taking your time to read about this awareness campaign and my Tia Vira’s journey ❤️