I am posting this message for KC, our youngest. She is making an effort to help Juan in his battle with cancer. There are also photos attached to this message on FB but I have no idea how to get them to this board, maybe someone else can do that for me? We are all so saddened by Juan's illness but at them same time amazed by his positive attitude and persistent smile.
Thank you for considering helping this young man, and by extension, his family.
La Manzanilla Friends, Family, and Visitors:
I am writing today bearing some challenging news, with hopes that you can help.
Chances are, if you've been to La Manzanilla in the past 20 years, you've probably eaten at Don Chapu's taco stand (referred to by many as "Chop Chop's"). You have also likely met Juan, Don Chapu's son (pictured above- also known as Afrika).
Juan was diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 leukemia in June of last year and was given six month to live.
After 7 rounds of chemotherapy, Juan's blood tests came back normal. But shortly after, they found a testicular tumor that had to be removed. During the surgery, the doctors realized that there were tumors throughout his body and the cancer had not been beaten.
Even though his nutrition was not balanced, Juan underwent heavy radiation and five more chemo treatments. There was no improvement. The doctors have since discontinued chemo as it seems to be causing more damage than good.
Juan is now fighting the battle with a last resort treatment option. His doctor has prescribed heavy vitamins to help strengthen his immune system against the cancerous cells. The treatment is four months long and costs $3800 pesos (about $200 USD) every 20 days. The overall cost comes to about $900 USD.
Many of you know, the family restaurant burned down a couple of months ago, which has left Juan with little choice in funding for his treatment. He is asking this community for help.
We tried to set up a Go Fund Me page, but unfortunately these pages are not supported in Mexico. Instead I've asked Juan to create a PayPal where you can send funds if you would like to help:
Juan Guillermo Ruiz Montes Juanguillermoruizmontes@yahoo.com
Please use the "Friends and Family" money transfer to send funds his way- this will avoid transaction fees on his end.
By his request, I will share some pictures of his current state below. Please be warned, these are a little graphic.
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Marcia G on July 8, 2016, 8:10 pm, in reply to "Help Juan Fight"
Barb, Paypal is not accepting that email address. It seems to be too long.
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Akbarb on July 8, 2016, 9:38 pm, in reply to "Help Juan Fight"
Hi Marcia.... I used the same address earlier for a donation.....try copy/paste it in the address space.
Juanguillermoruizmontes@yahoo.com.
I hope you can make it work... Thank you so much for the effort!
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Pamala/Gregorio on July 9, 2016, 5:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Help Juan Fight"
It worked for me Marsha....but try AKbarb's copy and paste....you can do it girl If still a problem give me a call...we can work it out...I hope everyone out there will open their pocket books and help Juan.
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Katherine on July 10, 2016, 2:12 pm, in reply to "Re: Help Juan Fight"
I had trouble also since it just takes me to Juan's email... where do you go from there? Pam, check spelling for Marcia's name😋😋😋😋😋😋
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Howie and Jenny on July 10, 2016, 5:15 pm, in reply to "Re: Help Juan Fight"
It worked for us!! I have a Paypal account and cut and pasted the email address in the place where it asks who the money is being sent to. That's if you have a Paypal account. (Easy to open an account). All the best to Juan and his family!!
Re: Help Juan Fight
Posted by Pamala/Gregorio on July 10, 2016, 9:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Help Juan Fight"