Fall Fun with CRF – October 2020 Newsletter

Last month, we shared how our team had the honor of meeting 2-year-old Emiliano and his family and learned more about his current battle with DIPG. Thankfully, we were able to help Emiliano receive treatment on Dr. Souweidane’s clinical trial in New York City and are continually following his story and remarkable journey. We are thrilled to announce that Emiliano has been doing amazing after his procedure. He enjoys FaceTiming our founder John “Gungie” Rivera and his daughter Sophia, almost every day. He is slowly gaining his ability to walk, and recently when he went to the park with his parents he was able to walk a bit, only holding one of his parents’ hands to support himself. He had been using both of his parents’ hands to help support him while walking over the past few months. We are so proud of you Emiliano, we love you 10!. Please consider donating money to help Emiliano, and his family, fight DIPG, as their battle is far from over. They need all the support they can to keep Emiliano healthy. You can make a donation here cristianriverafoundation.org/help-emiliano/.

All contributions will go directly toward his medical and living expenses. Thank you for all your help!

Lights for Lily  
Meet Lily! Lily is 8-years-old and was diagnosed this year with DIPG. Her family lives in the UK, and the CRF team is honored to help raise funds and awareness about her battle. A campaign called ‘Lights for Lily’ was started for her so she can access life-prolonging treatment via clinical trials. Unfortunately, there are no clinical trials available in the UK so her family needs to raise enough funds before December to travel overseas and find treatment. Lily, we are inspired by your strength and story! You can join us in following her and lighting the path on her social media platforms @lightsforlily.

Please consider donating to help Lily and her family fight DIPG here
cristianriverafoundation.org/help-lily/.

What is DIPG
(Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma)?

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma or DIPG, is a Rare, Inoperable Brain Stem Tumor that predominantly affects children between the ages of 2 and 10. Only 200-300 cases are discovered in the United States each year and because there is no cure, it’s young victims only have an average of 3-18 months to live, after they’ve been diagnosed. There are NO SURVIVORS.

Who is
The Cristian Rivera Foundation?

The Cristian Rivera Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization that works tirelessly, in order to raise awareness and funds to one day put a STOP to this disease. The Cristian Rivera Foundation funds the work of Dr. Mark Souweidane of Weill Cornell Medical Center – Memorial Sloane (Kettering) Cancer Center and Dr. Oren Becher of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and the Lurie Cancer center at Northwestern University. Both Doctors are conducting promising research and trials that have shown promising results. We are CLOSE to a CURE!

• Help us by making a Donation.
• Every Donation Big or Small, will help us achieve our goal.
• Help spread the word to your family, friends and Colleagues.

Written by John “Gungie” Rivera


Available on our website
CristianRiveraFoundation.org

Proceeds from the purchase of “Cristian´s Journey” will be donated to support D.I.P.G. research and trials at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Thank you for bringing us closer to a cure.

John “Gungie” Rivera
Founder of The Cristian Rivera Foundation
“Forever Cristian’s Daddy”

Chairman of the Board:
Andy Epstein

Board of Directors:
Carlos Yepez and Darlene Rodriguez.

Committee Members:
Aldo Marin, Alex Arizmendi, Alex Garcia,
Carlos Colon, Ed Martin, Elis Pacheco,
Fernando Ferrer, Francesco Quattrone,
Jarrad Seuferling, Jesse Allison,
Kenan Thompson, Luis Guzman,
 Meiling Macias Toro, Paul Pristavec, Rafael Toro,
Rena Kliot, Steve Cox, and Vito Bruno.

Committee Friends:
Alberto Torres, Ben Velazquez,
Dr. Manuel A. Moran, Edward Caban,
Maggie Meehan, Mark Rosner, Modesto Lacen,
Robert Dominguez, Vanessa Rodriguez
and William Pla.

Honorary Committee Members:
The Late Anthony Mason
and The Late Miriam Colon.

Supporters:
David Rodriguez, Karla De Epstein,
Pablo Diaz and Ramon E. Javier

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