https://twitter.com/ElTimeout/status/111...4600069120
A @gofundme campaign was started by Luis Hurtado’s mother to aid the @UAB_MBB point-guard and his family with living & transport expenses, plus medical add-ons.
We wish him full recovery!
https://www.gofundme.com/ayuda-a-luis-a-...de-su-vida
This is an automatic translation
Thaks everyone for reading. Luis needs your help to write down the most important points of his life and beat cancer.
Luis Armando Hurtado has always had magic. Since he was very young he was already emerging as a splendid child, inclined towards his passions being the biggest basketball. This, atypical, being from a country where basketball is not the most popular sport, and native of Merida, a land where, curiously, sports passion gravitates towards another sport with a ball: football.
I speak of "magic", because in the sport that he loves so much since he started practicing it, the game was very easy for him. Natural. He excelled, talented, and thus burned stages and stood out at the regional level, then at the national level, and later at the international level already representing Venezuela in minor categories at the young age of 14 years.
His dream is to reach the NBA. For that, he knew, he would have to go where the best ones play: United States. As a family, we clung to our hearts and when he got the opportunity to receive a scholarship to go to school and play basketball in North America, we let him go. He was so determined and mature. Upon his arrival, that same determination began to bear fruit. Already spoke coaches, and scouts of "that slender guy from Venezuela, with magic in his hands" that made his teammates better with their assists, and decisive baskets.
Team leader, point guard, the 1.98-centimeter orchestra leader stood out in Georgia, and then in Florida during these high school years. Universities paid attention to him and offered him a full scholarship to continue his studies, provided he played for one of those university programs. As parents, so many kilometers away and without being able to see it, we also dreamed together with him. That goal became reality and was recruited by the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where today, it carries the distinction of being the only Venezuelan in the maximum collegiate division of the United States. The 38th Venezuelan to play Division 1, following in the footsteps of other dreamers like Carl Herrera, Yvan Olivares, Gabriel Was, Diego Guevara, Hector Romero, Greivis Vásquez, David Cubillán, Gregory Echenique or Michael Carrera, among others who have left our flag aloft. When talking about relief and emerging young talents in the Venezuelan national team, Luis Hurtado is one of the first names on the list.
... During his debut season in college basketball, the pain that suddenly began to ache, became more and more constant. At times, unbearable. Weakness invaded him, and the pain did not stop. In the hospital, that pain was diagnosed as testicular cancer. Far from collapsing, that child who filled my heart since I was little, bouncing that orange ball around the house, and with the same determination as always, decided to keep going. And with an unwavering will and a smile, he has taught me lessons in courage and humility. This is my true "NBA".
UAB University has been a blessing at this difficult time. They have covered all the medical expenses, and they have told us not to worry about the costs of chemo and drugs. But, unfortunately, it's not the only thing Luis needs since he just can not be. I could hardly travel and accompany him during these months of treatment, and that he had that warmth and affection in the hardest moments. We rented a small apartment where we moved, and being unable to work in this country and be with the expenses of day to day for him and me until the end of summer, when his chemotherapy sessions are over, I have seen the need to to look for help. All donations will be provided to supplement Luis' basic medical expenses, monthly housing rent, meals, taxi transportation to / from the hospital,
Thanks for your support, friend, acquaintance, basketball fan or contributor! At heart, and although many can not know, I appreciate it.
María Eugenia León.
Mother of Luis Armando Hurtado León