Leukaemia, 22 Q Deletion, Type 1 diabetes and now this...A Family Asking For Your Help!

Hello We CARA Lot readers, today's post is not going to be all about Cara or myself or any member of my family for that matter.  Today's post is a call for help for a wonderful family that has had met and overcame huge obstacles, some obstacles we share with this family, others we would never want to know, PLEASE READ THEIR STORY:

Melissa and Alex Rocha have 4 kids, Devlin, Ethan, Braden and Cameron.

Ethan was born with 22 Q Deletion, which causes all kinds of medical issues, he has only one kidney which needs to be checked every year because it does not function 100%, he has no pulmonary artery to his heart which causes breathing problems. At 9 months old he had to have surgery to improve his kidney function and another one at 5 years old to fix a submucal cleft palate.

Their youngest son Cameron was diagnosed at 18 months with Type 1 Diabetes, which of course we all know requires constant monitoring and a complete overhaul to their families daily life.

Her husband Alex had Leukaemia when he was 2 years old and beat it!!


All this is more than enough! But just when it seems like all the kids are into a schedule, things where starting to get back to a "normal" Alex has been diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, a rare tumour that is in the lacrimal gland in his eye.


Doctors here in Canada want to remove Alex's eye and not perform any type of reconstructive surgery to get at the tumour. Alex found a Doctor in Boston that has treated this tumour very successfully for 12 years with a procedure that saves his eye. They also offer Proton Therapy (a type of radiation) that will kill the whole tumour. This tumour tends to have microscopic seeds that will likely grow back again if not treated with Proton therapy. Alex has been in contact with the Boston Doctor, and he is working with Alex to get treatment in the USA.

The care he has received in Canada has been horrible, they failed to recognize his cancer at an earlier check up, despite it being visible in x-rays, and they also refused to help him find better care once they did figure out what it was. I won't even mention the wait times to get a proper diagnosis. The cost of treatment in the states in addition to travel and stay is going to be outrageous and to help a fundraiser dinner is being held, open to anyone interested in coming out and supporting this wonderful family.

I understand that many of The We CARA Lot Blog readers are American therefore it would be hard for you to make the dinner however any donations through paypal will be greatly appreciated.

Melissa's email is melissarocha27@yahoo.com

Thank you so much