Art's Battle Against Leukemia

My husband, Arturo De La Rosa (Art) went in on Monday, July 17th to have his bi-yearly check-up and monitor his blood pressure where they took blood samples. On Thursday he began to feel bad, he thought it was a cold or even COVID. By Friday July 21st he was still sick and began to have severe body pain, headache, nausea and lack of appetite. That same day at 5:00 pm he received a call from his doctor informing him that he had to go see a specialist since something seemed wrong in his bloodwork and everything indicated that it was leukemia. From that day our nightmare began.

On Saturday the 22nd we arrived at the emergency room where he was admitted to the hospital, with a pre-diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. On Sunday they practiced a CT scan, magnetic resonance, and X rays. On Monday a bone marrow biopsy, where the bad news was that Arturo had developed a urinary trac infection and left 4 cm calculus (staghorn). On the 26th a ureteral stent was placed in the left kidney. Thursday 27th the diagnosis from the biopsy confirmed the devastating diagnosis that Arturo had Acute Myeloid leukemia (AML), AML is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow with excess immature white blood cells. AML progresses rapidly, with myeloid cells interfering with the production of normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets it's a quickly developing and aggressive blood cancer and requires an equally quick and aggressive treatment through chemotherapy oral and IV chemotherapy along with an eventual bone marrow transplant. My husband is an only child, and his parents are deceased with no direct family, but his 13-year-old daughter makes it a lengthier process and limits possible donors. He will remain at Methodist hospital in Sugar Land for at least a month or longer for treatment, where he is receiving care by a team of medical providers who have been amazing.

My husband, Arturo, is our family provider and protector. He is a very loving father and husband. He has always been a hard and dedicated employee, many times putting his job before his family to continue to provide for us. When this travesty struck, he was in transition to find a new job, even in the hospital he continued to take job interviews, until the doctor gave him the final diagnosis and could no longer make plans for the near future. He will be out of work for an unknown amount of time, while he undergoes treatment and fights for his life. He has a long road ahead of him.

Our hope is to raise $35,000 at this time, to help cover the costs of Arturo’s medical expenses, treatments and living expenses, helping alleviate the financial burden so that he can focus wholeheartedly on healing. I am currently working but my salary is not enough to cover all our needs at this trying time and as we know, cancer treatment and medical expenses can be continuous and costly for any family this will no doubt put a financial stress and drain on our family.

I'am humbly requesting your support to help alleviate the financial burden that suddenly struck our lives, changing them completely. Help us provide Arturo and our family with peace of mind during this difficult journey. We are grateful for any contribution and continued support for my husband, Arturo and our family. Any donation will be greatly appreciated, no amount is too small, every cent counts. Please continue to keep Arturo in your prayers and send positive thoughts. Thank you so much, with my sincerest appreciation.

Alma and De la Rosa Family