When Goodyear local Marco Enriquez was diagnosed with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma — a cancer of the bile ducts — on July 8. His family rushed him to doctor’s appointments, while a close friend established a fundraiser to help pay for his mounting medical expenses.
However, despite extensive hospital stays and medical treatment, Enriquez, 50, died from cancer on Oct. 18, leaving behind his wife, Wednesday, daughters Mia and Sophie, three brothers, sister, mother, father and a web of friends. As the family battles with the tremendous loss of a loved one, the fundraiser established by Wednesday’s coworker Leah Yingling on the crowdfunding site AngeLink remains active, accepting donations on their behalf.
“My sweet, sweet husband has passed away. Life is truly unfair. He was the most amazing father, the love of my life and I never met anyone who met him who also didn’t love him,” his family said on the crowdfunding page.
“I will never understand why this happened to him or to our family, but I do appreciate everyone’s continued support and prayers. With all of our love, Wenz, Marco, Mia and Sophie.”
To date, more than $17,700 of the $30,000 goal has been raised for Wednesday, Mia and Sophie since Oct. 4.
“The family really needs help. Those little girls need a good education and food on the table, and the mom needs extra help, because not only is she trying to get her full-time job, but she’s probably got an extra job on the side or probably working very long hours, and she needs help to support those children,” Gerry Poirier, founder of AngeLink, said.
The funds will go toward Enriquez’s medical bills and his Nov. 1 funeral. The average cost for a funeral with casket and burial in the United States last year was around $8,300, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, rising 5.8% over the past two years. These costs do not cover flowers, the gravemarker or any additional monuments or graveyard costs. In total, a funeral service can easily cost over $10,000.
“So many American families are not prepared to do that. They don’t have the savings to do it,” Poirier said.
AngeLink is the world’s first crowdfunding platform powered by women, aiming to support predominantly women alongside their loved ones. Over 70% of crowdfunding organizers are women, on those sites, most of the donors are women, Poirier stated. She founded AngeLink to provide a platform for these women, raising money for the men and women in their lives.
“The concept is to really create a community powered by women that’s really empathetic and caring,” Poirier said.
To donate to the Enriquez family, visit bit.ly/MarcoEnriquezFundraiser.
