FORT WAYNE – Chihuahua races, piñata punching and taco tasting at Viva Fort Wayne Fiesta on Saturday gave hundreds of partygoers a reason to smile.
But no one had a better reason to celebrate than Jorge Gonzalez, a shy, 17-year-old freshman at South Side High School.
Although the annual Fiesta is typically meant to celebrate Latin American culture, this year’s event at Headwaters Park had another purpose: to help Gonzalez afford medical treatment for perpetual kidney failure.
Gonzalez, who moved to the U.S. when he was 10, was born with two ineffective kidneys. To survive, he undergoes dialysis four times a day.
Gonzalez’s parents are unable to afford the roughly $100,000 kidney transplant. So several years ago, they appealed to Fernando Zapari, publisher of El Mexicano, for help. Zapari, who also organized the festival, then turned the annual event into a fundraiser for Gonzalez.
After two fiestas and other initiatives, Zapari and his committee raised close to $80,000 for the boy. By the end of Saturday’s event, which was free for kids but $5 for adults after 4 p.m., they hoped to have nearly $100,000.
“This effort has been dollar by dollar,” Zapari said. “After this event, we’ll be very close.”
Even if the committee doesn’t reach its goal, Gonzalez will still have his transplant. A foundation recently heard of Gonzalez’s plight and decided to donate funds for the operation. The money raised through the fiestas will be used for medical treatment after the transplant.
Gonzalez said his father is being tested to see whether he can donate a kidney. If he can, the operation will take place in a matter of weeks or months.
“If I can get a kidney, things will be better,” Gonzalez said Sunday as Latino pop music played in the background. “I give thanks to everyone here. It really means a lot.”
