Los Altos High School popsicle salesman Gregorio has already lost his eyesight in one eye, and without immediate medical intervention, his other eye will likely meet the same fate. A GoFundMe has been created to help him pay for his medical expenses.

“It was my obligation to do what I could to help him,” Matilda Haney Foulds, the creator of the GoFundMe, said.

Over the past few months, Gregorio, subject of The Talon’s previous feature “A story untold: the LAHS ice cream salesman,” has had trouble obtaining the means to pay for such an expensive procedure. In late 2022, he visited a clinic to determine how possible eye surgery would be for him, but was quickly turned away due to a lack of health insurance. 

“It would be around $5,000 [without insurance],” Gregorio said in Spanish.

Gregorio visited the clinic again in early February with a small sum of $300 to help cover private insurance — his only remaining option. Eventually, he was able to schedule an appointment in May to discuss how much the operation would cost. 

But waiting until May to make any progress will be quite difficult for Gregorio. His eyesight has a good chance of deteriorating even further throughout March and April.

To make matters worse, Gregorio is receiving no help from his family. 

“Sometimes you find yourself alone. In a family they close the doors on you, you have no communication,” Gregorio said.

Matilda urges the LAHS community to try to help him as much as possible.

“He’s given a lot to our community, and it’s our obligation to give back to him,” she said.

Click here to visit the GoFundMe.

Special thanks to freshman Diana Antonio Rios for translation.