Donate to Help Angelo Recover From Brain Cancer & Reclaim His Life, organized by Stefanie Venegas

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English Version Meet Angelo, the 6-year-old who was living a normal life until tragedy struck. Before his diagnosis of an extremely aggressive form of metastatic brain cancer (medulloblastoma group 3), he was busy loving high-level math, learning the alphabet in different languages like Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, and Greek. THIS IS HOW OUR LIVES HAVE CHANGED: Angelo was living such a regular life with a touch of special pizzazz. He has always been very interested in learning. His play has always been centered around numbers, letters, and colors. He had just started kindergarten online when he started complaining about tummy aches and sporadic headaches. He spent days vomiting, so we took him to the ER twice; he was given nausea meds and MiraLAX. Suddenly, his left eye veered inwards, and this made me search for answers. With difficulty, I was able to make an appointment and was eventually sent for an emergency MRI at Children’s Hospital of Oakland. We left our 11-month-old with family and went to the ER, never expecting to hear “your child has a brain tumor that has spread down his spine.” My husband and I have not left his side since November 22nd, 2024. He was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma Group 3 (the most aggressive of its kind), as well as obstructive hydrocephalus. The 3 centimeter tumor had completely blocked any drainage of cerebral spinal fluid, and the pressure in his head was so much that we were told that if we hadn’t brought him to the ER that night, he would not have made it. He underwent surgery to have a temporary drain placed in his head; these were the last days that we would see him as his regular self before his tumor removal surgery. Six hours after his tumor removal surgery, he was unable to close his left eye, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t drink, and he slowly stopped being able to move his limbs completely; he was now quadriplegic and mute. He weighed as little as 28 lbs; he was between life and death. My son was no longer the same; I feared that he would never be able to enjoy numbers or letters as he had all of his short life. A doctor charted that he had cognitive disabilities, and he was adamant that Angelo could not understand anything. This infuriated me because I knew Angelo was fully aware, by the way that he interacted with me, his eye contact, and his vitals told me all I needed to know. He started an intensive first cycle of chemotherapy, which knocked him down. My husband and I were doing shifts so that one of us was always awake with him. My husband saved Angelo from asphyxiating in his sleep multiple times, when no one else was around, even though we were in the Pediatric ICU. We quickly learned to diaper, do bed changes, turn his body, give bed baths, and use the suction to remove phlegm and clear his throat and nose (this was a constant need that required us to be at his bedside with the suction ready). I was five months pregnant at this time, in an ongoing state of worry that I would lose my son at any moment. We were constantly advocating and going up against doctors who were not making the best calls for our child. There was no rest for us while our baby fought hard to stay alive. My husband had to make the tough decision not to return to his two jobs so that he could help me care for our son and go up against a multitude of rotating doctors, since he was in such critical condition any small oversight could be fatal. Angelo eventually started having issues with his lungs. He contracted Nocardia and developed a serious infection in his lungs, which had the potential to spread to his brain and blood. He was intubated and placed on a ventilator. We were forced to stop chemotherapy since the antibiotics in combination with chemotherapy could be detrimental. But this break with no chemotherapy could also mean that the aggressive and rapidly growing cancerous tumor could spread, and it did. At this point, we had been in the Pediatric ICU for two months and would be transferred to San Francisco so that he could begin radiation, finally on the oncology floor with doctors who understood his diagnosis and his needs better. We started radiation with one chemotherapy medication, completed six weeks of radiation in his head and spine, our brave kiddo did it without daily anesthesia, just doing his best to lie still while he listened to mommy and daddy reading on the speaker. At this point, he had already developed ICU Myopathy, but we were working towards helping his limbs get stronger and more mobile. The Nocardosis had started to improve with medication and respiratory therapy multiple times a day, and his voice was slowly coming back. But the antibiotic Linezolid caused vision loss, since it affects the optic nerve, he was now diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy, and was told that nothing could be done (not even glasses). The radiation and the Carboplatin and Cisplatin caused some hearing loss as well. At this point, we were not taking breaks in between treatments, so we had been away from home for a total of 4 months. I gave birth via c-section and immediately got back to caring for Angelo within days of giving birth. All of our mental health, especially Angelo’s, had taken a big hit. Being away from our now 20-month-old has never been easy and has taken a toll on all of us. Angelo is now undergoing chemotherapy with stem cell transplant rescue treatments. Angelo is getting stronger, but he is still bedridden and wheelchair dependent. We are working daily to help him feel like any child should: loved, cared for, supported, and entertained. My husband and I have still not left his side, and we work diligently to do everything we can to make life easier for Angelo and bring a sense of normalcy to him. His baby sister Angelina is living with us in the hospital with Angelo. She brings moments of joy and cozy cuddles for our little guy. But he always mentions how he misses his baby brother, who is not allowed on the oncology floor. Baby brother is well-loved and cared for by my parents and sister, and we are so grateful to them for having fully taken in our son while we fight for Angelo’s life alongside him. If you can find it in your heart to help us during these emotionally and financially trying times, we would greatly appreciate any support. May God bless you all who have prayed for our son during these difficult times. There is still a long way to go and a lot of fight left to give. Update: 9.3.25 I would like to thank everyone who has shared and donated to our cause, we are so grateful for your support. Recently Angelo has been in the thick of the chemotherapy treatments, his counts are at their lowest, and mucositis has been taking a toll on him. He is on a continuous morphine drip for the pain that he has related to the mucositis. He has also been battling high grade fever for the last few days, he has reached up to 104 F. Please continue to pray for our son. Thank you all! ❤️Stefanie

Donate to Help Angelo Recover From Brain Cancer & Reclaim His Life, organized by Stefanie Venegas

Donate to Help Angelo Recover From Brain Cancer & Reclaim His Life, organized by Stefanie Venegas

Price Valid Until: 1970-01-01