A man and his son from Arizona are gathering funds for a kidney transplant by setting up a lemonade stand.
Over the weekend, Forest Gomez, a nine-year-old, was seen selling lemonade.
Forest revealed that the purpose behind this is to fund his father’s kidney transplant.
Jorge Gomez, who is 29 years old, requires a new kidney, as stated by his son.
“We were laying down one night, and he asked me if he sold all his toys, would it be enough for my transplant? And I told him that he didn’t have to do that, but we can figure something out to raise money. So, he’s always wanted to do a lemonade stand, so he’s like, ‘What about if we do a lemonade stand?’ So that’s how he came up with the whole…like, let’s do it.”
Jorge Gomez
According to Jorge, he undergoes dialysis thrice a week. He further explains that due to his immigration status, he needs to search for a living donor and cover the expenses of the transplant surgery on his own.
Jorge revealed that the cost of the surgery amounts to $450,000, while the total expense can go over a million dollars if a live donor cannot be found.
Jorge is currently painting houses before his dialysis sessions to raise funds, all in the hopes of providing his son with a glimmer of hope.
“I was depressed, and I was just looking around, and my son came to me and we were talking, and they just click, click, like, ‘What am I doing? I need to get out of bed. I needed…I need to do something with my life, because he’s watching me, and he’s watching me give up,’ so he’s looking up to me. So now I get up every morning for him. Every day is for him.”
Jorge Gomez
Maria is amazed by the strength of her brother and is determined to gather sufficient funds to support his medical treatment.
“Regardless his condition, he still gets up to go to work and provide for his son, and on top of that, to save money for his kidney transplant…I strongly believe that all this process, process is going through is because God is teaching us that we’re not alone. God is teaching us that he’s he’s gonna heal him, and he’s not gonna just let him die.”
Maria, Jorge Gomez’s sister
Sources report that the lemonade stand can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays at Escuda Drive, located in the area of 12th Street and Beardsley Road in Phoenix.
