Joe Louis (Louie) Avila: Story of a Champion

It’s been almost 4 years since we received the devastating news that Louie had developed squamous cell tongue cancer. Soon after his diagnosis, we felt God was going to move powerfully and miraculously in our lives. We've seen God answer many of our prayers along Louie's difficult cancer journey; however, we are still waiting on God to answer our prayers for Louie's complete healing. To date, we have tried to manage our medical expenses on our own as we did not want to be a burden to anyone. Even so, there have been several people, to whom we are deeply grateful, who have helped us with counseling, meals, various services, emotional support, faithful prayers and much more.

Louie's cancer battle over the last four years has exhausted all our resources, and we are unable to continue this fight  alone monetarily. When Louie first got the cancer diagnosis, our "medical coverage" (not medical insurance) dropped us and refused to pay any of the costs associated with his diagnosis even after we submitted several appeals. It took nearly a year for Louie to get medical treatment after his diagnosis because we had to find a job that provided medical insurance, pass probation, and pass the shutdown that happened with the onset of COVID-19. While fighting to get medical insurance, Louie tried numerous alternative therapies done in a clinical setting as well as at home. These alternative therapies were successful in eliminating Louie's chronic pain, and although they were helpful, they were not a cure. Unfortunately, by the time Louie was able to get medical treatment, the cancer had metastasized and was no longer easily treatable.

After a year of unsuccessful treatments, Louie was shifted into clinical trials (CT) (i.e., experimental drug treatments). A promising new therapy was presented to Louie that was offered in Houston, Tx. However, this trial required that Louie live within a 4-mile radius of the hospital because of the severity of the possible side effects. We made it clear to the CT Coordinator that we could not afford to "live" in Houston, and that we would need financial assistance to participate in the CT. About 3 months later, we were notified that the drug sponsor had "approved" our financial assistance request, so we only needed to save and submit our receipts. We were familiar with this process as we had done it for another CT Louie had participated in. The good news is the CT was successful in completely shrinking a large mass on the right side of Louie's neck. The bad news is that we were never reimbursed for the expenses related to living in Houston for several months to participate in the CT. Unfortunately, our attorney has advised us that since the reimbursement agreement was not made directly between us and the drug sponsor, we have no recourse to be reimbursed for our expenses.

Through the years, we have paid a small fortune on medical out-of-pocket maximums, out-of-network costs, over-the-counter meds, transportation costs (including parking), supplements, medical supplies and much more. Not to mention that Teresa has had her health challenges as she had two surgeries last year and has two more upcoming this year. In addition, this year has started particularly challenging as our cars are now failing us. The engine on our primary car has been blown (2009), and is considered a complete loss. And our secondary car (2001) is at best unreliable and has spent the mojority of this year in the shop. Thank God for generosity of those who love us as they have generously provided rides and loaned us a car so we could make it to our numerous doctor appointments. It has become increasingly obvious that God did not intend for us to travel this road alone.

We need the help of others to continue the fight. Through the emotional ups and downs, physical pain, hardships, and fears, we see that this is a fight that is won with love, unity, and others around you who can go beyond what we can do alone. So we are asking and pleading for your help and involvement to overcome this devastating disease that has claimed so many. So many times we wish we could change the world and make a difference in the lives of others. Now is a chance to be a part of that and see that God can do so much with our time and money when it is gifted with Love and Heart. So we are asking that you share this experience with us and by giving what you can.

Please know: I, Laura Avila-Smith, have created this gofundme account for my parents Joe & Teresa Avila. My parents do not have the emotional, physical or mental bandwidth to manage this account. Therefore, I will be managing all aspects of this account as the organizer.