Leonel Jaramillo He is a teenager who, at only 15 years old He faced several struggles in his life. When she was only 10 years old she was discovered a serious illness that left him with consequences as the almost complete loss of vision. However, a glimmer of hope appeared to the family when they told him that he could undergo treatment in China, which is why all of Añelo came together to raise funds for Leo.
Leonel or Leo, as his family calls him, is a teenager from Añelo. In his short life he had to undergo harsh treatment to beat brain cancer. Nerea Martínez, his mother, told Diario RÍO NEGRO that When Leo was 10 years old, they found a tumor lodged in his neck that they were only able to remove in 2019. in Buenos Aires.
“The tumor was the size of an orange,” the mother recalled and noted that after this treatment continued with chemotherapies and radiotherapies. “We traveled from Buenos Aires back to Neuquén where the treatment continued until it was finished,” Nerea commented. But far from finding the peace of mind of having put an end to cancer, another situation afflicted the family: Leo had been left with consequences and one of them was having lost almost all of his sight, “he can’t see anything but shadows.”
Although the teenager appears to be a happy teenager, his family expressed the need to wanting Leo to be able to “live his normal life like a 15-year-old boy.”
A light of hope for Leo
The ray of light for Leo came when they found out that He could recover his vision but for this he would have to travel to China. According to his mother, the treatment consists of implantation of stem cells in the optic nerves of the adolescent.
Leo’s case is known throughout Añelo, hundreds of people and solidarity groups such as Grupo Toyota Añelo, joined the cause to fulfill the young man’s dream. “Leo is excited about this so we are doing everything we can to raise the money,” commented the mother.
For his part, Diego Gómez, a member of the Toyota group, explained that They are looking to raise a total sum of 50 million pesos to be able to cover the expenses required for travel and treatment.
“We already spoke with the mayor of Añelo and now we are trying to communicate with the governor to receive support and learn about Leo’s story,” explained Gómez, adding that The objective is to be able to raise the money before June so that prices do not rise further.
The representative of the solidarity group reported that those interested in learning about Leo’s cause can do so by entering the Facebook user “Una Luz De Esperanza Para Leo.” There the family gives details about the activities they carry out to raise funds and provides information on how they can help.