Our Real Life Ironman

One of my favorite movies of all time is the Marvel Comics - Iron Man series. If you watched them from the beginning you will recall that in the first one, Tony Stark, was a wealthy business magnate, living the dream with not a care in the world. He was immediately put in a tough spot after being kidnapped and suffered a severe chest injury. With the help of another prisoner, he was forced to find a way out by inventing the Iron Man suit to escape his captors. From there, he went on to fight off the bad guys that entered his life and in the process changed his entire outlook on life. He became a more conscious and caring character but still true to his charismatic, crazy self. He needed the Iron Man suit more than he knew along with the life-threatening situation that happened to him to become a better version of himself. My brother Lalo is my Iron Man.

As you all are aware from my last letter, my brother Lalo, has been battling cancer since September of 2019. He has completed a total of 7 rounds of chemo at MD Anderson in the Medical Center and most recently underwent major thoracic surgery to remove the remaining tumors in his chest and liver. I’ll never forget the day of his surgery, in the midst of fear and anxiousness, my brother was strong and resilient. He insisted on driving himself to the hospital, since he knew he wouldn’t be able to drive for a while after surgery, and even when he arrived he remained calm and collected, with his headphones on listening to his music. It reminded me of the suit up scene when Tony Stark added more technology to his suit and was ready for battle! My brother arrived and basically said, “let's do this”. Thanks to God, the doctors and medical staff, his surgery was a success and they were able to remove the tumors as planned.

Though his tumors have been removed, the scars will forever be there to remind him of his journey. However, his fight is not over yet due to a recent discovery of a new mass near his hip bone, but we are confident that with God’s grace, his medical team will be able to once again find a treatment for him. Just like Iron Man, my brother has been faced with a life-threatening situation and has had to dig deep to find the courage to overcome it.

When I saw him after surgery, I said to him “What’s up, Iron Man!”. He looked up at me and just smiled like I was exaggerating. Very little does he know that to me he is the real-life Iron Man. We are truly thankful for all of you that continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. This has been a true test for him and my family. He is leading the way and is doing it so courageously. We have no choice but to keep up with him as best that we can.

Thank you all again and again. - Ricardo Gonzalez