On Saturday January 8th our lives changed Ricardo noticed his ankles and feet were swollen. He didn't feel sick; he just felt tired, so the family chose not to go in and see if it got better. Saturday, Ricardo slept most of the day and insisted he was fine. Saturday progressed into Sunday, and he did not get any better. Jessica called UW to schedule an appointment on Monday, the 10th. On Monday, upon arrival, Ricardo had a low fever so they tested him for COVID-19, and the Dr. was noticeably concerned about his ankles and wanted an ultrasound done because he was jaundice. After testing positive, Ricardo was admitted into the hospital, where they took over 100 images, and the Dr. wanted him to be transferred down to UW Emergency. He was admitted around 5:30 PM and attempted to perform a paracentesis (Put a small tube into the abdomen to drain off the fluid. This reduces the swelling and makes a person feel more comfortable). The ER doctor was unsuccessful and wanted Ricardo to be seen by a specialist. The specialist was not available until Friday, so Ricardo went home. The swelling had not subsided, and his primary caretaker was worried about the fluid accumulating in his abdomen and the chance of bacterial infection occurring. Now, back in Madison, Ricardo was readmitted into the hospital, where they found that his right lung had collapsed, his kidney was failing, his liver was failing, and there was a bacterial infection in the place where they had previously tried to remove it the fluid. Ricardo had become extremely swollen to the point his skin on his legs was opening. He progressed very quickly and couldn't breathe, had a fever of 102.9, his heart rate was so elevated they had to do 2 EKGs to make sure he didn't have a heart attack. Jessica sat in the ER parking lot until midnight, and they finally let her know that he was stable but not entirely out of danger. Jessica drove home, heartbroken. After many long days and holding onto anything, especially their faith, the Yanez family feels thankful that Ricardo is home for the time being and wants to thank everyone who has been praying for them, sending gifts and cards. They still have a long way to recovery – looking at 26 or so weeks. On the 17th, they will know if Ricardo will need a liver transplant after seeing a GI specialist. While he waits, he is still on a fluid restriction and a very low sodium diet. He's lost 40 pounds throughout this, he is on strong medication, his blood is very thin and they are being very cautious about potential blood clots. It’s easier to stay strong when you have a support system, so they want to thank each of you who has played a role in getting them this far. This fund is to help pay for the extensive testing, potential transplant and average hospital stay expenses that insurance won’t cover. Jessica is home with Ricardo for the time she is able, all while taking care of the two children, house upkeep and day-to-day things to keep some normalcy. Anything is appreciated & again, they are so thankful for all of you. Update we received from specialist is he’s battling Decompensated Cirrhosis of Liver stage 4 with Ascites, Esophageal Varices and possible Hepatocellular carcinoma (Liver Cancer) which he has to be screened for every 6 months, he only has 30% of his liver left. Thank you for all your prayers. Hugs. So I spoke with all 3 specialists that have seen everything that has happened to me since this started. I have stage 4 cirrhosis. Only 30% is functioning the other 70% is scarred not working. All my labs they have have improved. I’ve lost 65lbs and in a low sodium diet. The next step they want to do is go in with a scope down my throat because in the CT scan the saw blood vessels that might burst so if they catch this early they can band or burn them if not I can bleed to death. Then they want to go in again and scan my liver because if you have cirrhosis you can have liver cancer. All this is not necessarily alcohol related which I can not consume anymore for the rest of my life. It’s ok. The fluid I had played a big part where it went everywhere in my body and they considered it as waste. They did labs yesterday and again everything came back ok The specialists want these appointments done asap. They will let me know when I have to go in. I have a follow up on the Tuesday, February 22nd and wait to see what’s next. I will continued evaluation and know on my May appointment if I’m Transplant candidate Thank you so much for all the prayers, calls, texts, and donations I’m immensely grateful.