Dr. Victor Pineda Medical Fund

Friends of Victor Pineda is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Victor Pineda.

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Dear friends, family and supporters,

We write to you today with a genuine request for kindness and support for our close friend and renowned disability expert, Dr. Victor Pineda.

While traveling for work, Dr. Pineda suddenly became ill with a strong fever on June 15th and was admitted on June 23rd at the Hôpital Université de Genève. There they discovered dry pneumonia.

As many of you know, Dr. Pineda is a quadriplegic and uses a ventilator to breathe. With his lungs at 9% capacity and his complex medical needs, pneumonia is an extremely dangerous illness.

After two days, the coughing subsided and the fever became intermittent. However, due to the combination of severe stress and high doses of oral medication, Dr. Pineda developed gastritis and painful gallbladder attacks. The staff continues to monitor the liquid in his lungs.

We are all preoccupied with his full recovery and grateful to the family and friends that have been at the hospital supporting him through these challenges.

Dr. Victor Pineda is not only a disability expert and advisor on human rights and the rights for persons with disabilities, but he is also a two-time presidential appointee and has worked on both UN SDGS and the Americans with Disabilities ACT. The number of people his work has directly impacted is immeasurable and we pray that today we can come together to give back to someone who has so humbly and generously dedicated his life work to helping others.

As of today, June 28th, the current focus of treatment is to stabilize his stomach and gallbladder while treating the pneumonia. Additional blood tests are scheduled to monitor a bacterial infection and any further development.

With the complications, we are estimating another 2 weeks of intensive hospital care for Dr. Pineda to fully recover and continue to be monitored by the medical staff. Unfortunately, Dr. Pineda's US-based insurance will not cover the cost of overseas medical care. We are in communication with his credit card companies but have not yet made any progress with them either.

Thus, we are asking for your help to raise the necessary funds to cover Dr. Pineda's hospital stay in Geneva, his post-hospital sojourn to gain strength for his trip home, and the more intense 24-hour professional care he will need upon discharge, over the next 6 months, and into the foreseeable future. Dr. Pineda anticipates life changes after this experience and all funds raised will help him with this transition. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated.

We also encourage you to share the campaign widely on social media, spreading awareness and engaging your network to maximize support for Dr. Pineda's cause.

Likewise, your thoughts, prayers and messages are also very welcome. They mean so much to Dr. Pineda and provide him the encouragement and energy that is crucial at this time.

For those who may have just discovered Dr. Victor Pineda's work, you can learn more about his initiatives by visiting his nonprofit foundation World Enabled. In addition to being a professor at UC Berkeley, he is also an award-winning filmmaker and adventurer. Here is the trailer to his latest documentary, Unconfined, which will be released on Amazon, Roku, Tubi and other streaming platforms this month:

Our collective generosity can alleviate the financial burden and provide Dr. Pineda with the necessary resources to stabilise his condition.

By supporting Dr. Pineda, we reaffirm our commitment to caring for those who have dedicated their lives to improving our society.

We commit to keeping you informed about Dr. Pineda's progress, treatment updates, and the utilisation of funds, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for your compassion and support.

With our warmest and sincerest gratitude,

Zachary Kerschberg, Megan Bentley, and Friends and Family of Victor Pineda