Las Vegas, Nevada

Every family experiences great difficulty while their loved one battles a life-threatening disease. So many lives are thrown into turmoil once a diagnosis is revealed.

In addition to heart-wrenching concerns and fear, many struggle with the financial pain of keeping it all together.

This is the story of one patient’s family.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Luis was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

His only hope for a cure was a bone marrow transplant. But he lived in Las Vegas where there is no transplant center, so he had to travel to Southern CA to receive care and prepare for his transplant.

Although his family comes from a modest background, they made it work for several months. Unfortunately, medical complications ensued, and they eventually exhausted their savings.

Luis’ wife Madelourdes remained with him as his caregiver.

The Caregiver Requirement

Every transplant center requires a 24/7 caregiver to help a patient during treatment and transplant. It’s required by the medical team, but the expenses are not covered by many patients insurance. The cost of housing, transportation, and meals became too much for Luis’ family.

Their only source of income came from their daughter, who was living in Las Vegas. As a single mom working two jobs, she did the best she could.

Luis’ wife slept on two chairs at her husband’s bedside.

Assisting with Lodging and Meals

The Icla da Silva Foundation assists bone marrow transplant patients and their families during a very difficult time. Through our IclaCares program, we were able to provide funds to Luis’ family for lodging and meals.

The family will use the lodging funds sporadically so his wife and caregiver Madelourdes can get a decent night of sleep and a shower every once in awhile while her husband completes treatment.

As soon as they received the news, the family called us with tears of joy. They were overwhelmingly grateful for the support we provided.

We wish Luis a full recovery.

We were happy to help this family. We only wish we could do the same for more families in their urgent time of need. No one should have to sleep between two chairs while their loved one battles a life-threatening disease.

You Can Help

Your donation will make a difference to a patient family in desperate need. Every gift, no matter the size, will help a family who has a loved one on the difficult path to receive a bone marrow transplant.

Please consider making a donation to help a patient family like Luis’.

Thanks for reading.

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Written by: Bret Itskowitch