Miguel Angel used to be a healthy kid. He is only six years old and life is now putting him and his family through a huge test.  In February of this year Miguel Angel presented a fever that could not be controlled by the doctors at the local community health care center near his home in San Ignacio Cerro Gordo, Jalisco , Mexico.

After several studies, doctors could not diagnose what was causing Miguel Angel’s fever and by then also a severe abdominal pain. Doctors decided to move him to Antiguo Hospital Civil located in the city of Guadalajara. Miguel Angel arrived to the hospital weighing 44 pounds, which decreased to less than thirty pounds after a month. Doctors tried several advanced studies and yet they could not discover the cause of the boy’s illness.

Because his weight loss and no appetite, Miguel Angel started showing other conditions such as anemia  and internal bleeding. To stop the internal bleeding doctors performed surgery to cut part of his intestine. With all odds against him Miguel Angel survived the surgery. One day after the surgery he suffered a respiratory arrest, which he again survived but was sent to the emergency room for urgent care. At that time his weight was only 22 pounds. Doctors were not very optimistic yet Miguel Angel’s condition was about to present yet another complication. There was not enough oxygen in his system, especially in his extremities.  On June 14th doctors removed parts of the boy’s arms and feet as well as the tip of his nose.

Today, Miguel Angel is still alive. He can eat but is not able to absorb all the nutrients from the food. He has to gain weight (he is only 28.6 pounds) in order to have another surgery. Miguel Angel is fighting for his life every day, yet the doctors are still unable to diagnose his illness. His treatment is focused on keeping him alive while waiting for some answers about his illness.

The community in the Bay Area has mobilized to help Miguel Angel. The goal is to help the family move Miguel Angel to a private hospital that is more qualified to treat him. People can make a donation at any Wells Fargo branch: account number 6428048356 for the benefit of Miguel Angel Orozco.  Donations can also be made at any location of Arteaga's Food Center, including those at 5510 Thornton Ave. in Newark and 226 Jackson St. in Hayward. Lupe Lopez, owner of Arteaga's, got involved after learning about Miguel Angel through several of her community and business contacts.

“We are waiting for God’s will,” Miguel Angel’s family wrote in a statement. “We hope everything is going to be better. Miguel Angel is and will be always an angel.”