Our Angel Miguelito

Hello, Miguel has lived the best life he could’ve with what he had to endure. At the age of 9 years old he developed leukemia. He fought and won that battle. He went in to remission at the age of 15. It was horrible because Miguel is the type that if it could happen it’ll happen to him unfortunately. We all thought he was good, he was on his last year of college at CSUB, he got his first job, bought his own car, was making good friends, he was finally wanting to LIVE and go see what the world had to offer him. But when he turned 20 we got the sad news that he developed squamous cell carcinoma which was vary ware and unheard for someone so young. That cancer is normally found a people who have drank and smoked their whole lives and are in their late 50s to 60s. Miguel was 20 years old never drank or smoked anything a day in his young life. He felt like he was getting his life ripped from him. He had to go through extensive surgeries to try and save him. He had to have reconstructive tongue surgery that changed his speech. He had 61 lymph nodes taken out from his throat. He had a skin graft that was used from his arm to add to the half of his tongue that was cut off and then they got another skin graft from his thigh to put on his arm. He went through the toughest days during those months. He had to learn to walk, talk, eat and function all over again. When he left the hospital he still had to do chemo and radiation to combat the cancer, if any remain. He still somehow had the strength to want to celebrate his 21st birthday and we did. His mental health got destroyed though. For the next three years he battled with the fear of cancer coming back and cancer taking his life from him. He was suicidal and shut down. His family tried so hard so many times to help him but that wasnt enough. He tried getting professional help but it was let down after let down. It’s as if they couldn’t even understand and grasp what he had been through so young. At 24 he had finally decided that he wanted travel and not be scared anymore so he started living again, even though he had that monster riding on his back. And for some strange reason five years after that cancer, and right when he was supposed to be declared in remission, it came back stronger. They tried chemo and radiation one more time. We thought he was OK January 2023, but he never came back. The treatments took a toll on his body and mind. The pain medication hurt him. There was nothing to take that pain away anymore in May they let us know that they thought the treatment was working but it wasn’t, the cancer was back and stronger. It had taken over his head and neck. Doctors fought to try to find more treatment options but unfortunately there was none except risky immunotherapy. So he tried that and it destroyed his body. He got a severe colitis infection and was in the hospital most of May, June and July 2023. At the end of July they said his body couldn’t take anymore. That broke Miguel because in his mind, he still wanted to try and beat this illness. His mind was still strong, but his body couldn’t endure anymore. He got sent home to hospice, his pain was still uncontrollable but there they would be able to give him all the pain medication he would need to go in peace and asleep like he wished. And if it wasn’t enough because he was so young and so strong, his mind couldn’t grasp him dying. He tried to accept the fate he was given but even at the end he was the strongest fighter ever. Miguel deserves to remembered and honored not just by his loved ones but by everyone. He was too young, too good, and too innocent. His tragic story deserves to be heard. I wish he knew his memory and life was not in vain. He touched so many souls. The doctors nurses health care staff and anyone else who met him all cried because he deserved a chance. His family is grieving and trying to understand and accept so we would just like to lighten the burden and help financially. Miguel was the baby and he leaves behind 3 nieces, 2 nephews, 2 brothers, 1 sister, his father and his dear mother that never left his side for one moment. Thank you for reading this. Please don’t be to saddened because Miguel was a light no matter what morbid cards he was dealt he always tried to have his sense of humor. Live and love what he couldn’t but wanted to do desperately. You may not know him but honor him embrace a pure soul. I pray he knows how loved he was.