His name is Jonathan Chicas. But his friends call him 鈥淧rimo.鈥�
鈥溾�楶rimo鈥� means 鈥榗ousin鈥� in Spanish,鈥� said Ryan Alcorn, a senior at Herndon High School and a Reston resident. 鈥淗e鈥檚 like family.鈥�
And when he was going through some tough times recently, his local 鈥渇amily鈥� was there to help him out. He had fallen sick with pneumonia and was facing a seemingly insurmountable medical bill.
His worries were alleviated when the bill was covered in less than 24 hours, thanks to a 聽and a community that supports those in need.
鈥淚 was sure that I was going to need to leave school to pay this,鈥� Jonathan said. 鈥淲ow, I was so happy.鈥�
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Jonathan, a junior at Herndon High School, came to the U.S. with his family from El Salvador. Living in Herndon, they sometimes have trouble making ends meet. To pay the bills, Jonathan sometimes has to help out by doing聽odd jobs.
Recently, he was working on a concrete job in unfriendly聽weather.
鈥淚t was cold 鈥� very, very cold,鈥� he said.
It wasn鈥檛 long after that he聽started to feel sick 鈥� very, very sick.
鈥淚 was sneezing and I was getting headaches,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he next day, it was getting worse.鈥�
Jonathan tried to fight the illness without taking medicine or going to the doctor. Instead, he visited the school clinic.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to go to the hospital, because I knew it was going to be very, very expensive,鈥� he said, adding that he does not have health insurance.
After a few days, his health turned from bad to worse.
鈥淚 went to the clinic and I told the nurse that now I was feeling miserable,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 went to the bathroom and I was vomiting, and I saw some red spots, and I knew it was blood.鈥�
An ambulance was summoned to transfer Jonathan to the emergency room. He spent a morning there, where he received a pneumonia diagnosis. He was given antibiotics and quickly felt better. After about a week of recovery, he was good as new.
That is, until the bill arrived.
鈥淛ust from the hospital, not including the ambulance, it was $4,196.75,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or three hours.鈥�
Jonathan felt sick again, this time for another reason.
鈥淲e were supposed to have dinner, and I wasn鈥檛 hungry at all,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had lost it, to be honest.鈥�
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Ryan had been used to hearing from 鈥淧rimo鈥� regularly. They spent a lot of time together after becoming friends in personal fitness class.
When he hadn鈥檛 seen his friend聽around or heard from him for several days, he texted to ask what was going on.
鈥淗e was like, 鈥楢ww man, I was really sick,’鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 really go into detail, so I was just like, 鈥楢ll right, I鈥檓 glad you鈥檙e feeling better.’鈥�
But when Jonathan brought the bill over to show Ryan, the true scope of the problem came to light.
鈥淗e looked really depressed, and that was something I鈥檇 never really seen before,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚 kept telling him on the way home, 鈥業 think everything鈥檚 going to be all right, it鈥檚 going to be OK.鈥� But I knew at that point he didn鈥檛 believe me, and I don鈥檛 know if I totally believed myself.鈥�
Jonathan鈥檚 mother makes $380 a week at her job, and his dad makes some cash here and there through handyman work, but not much in the winter. In addition to helping to pay the bills, Jonathan sends money back to El Salvador to help his grandmother.
鈥淚 kind of know his financial situation, about having to pay other bills,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淭he amount of work he has to put in just to get by is incredible.鈥�
Ryan floated the idea of a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to pay the bill.
鈥淚 knew, just from the people that Jonathan is friends with and people he鈥檚 met, they all love him,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew they would come out and support him.鈥�
Jonathan聽wasn鈥檛 as optimistic, but Ryan was able to convince him. The page launched Jan. 4.
And it took off, Ryan said.
鈥淎t first it was people we knew, good friends of Jonathan, and then it was people who had heard about him or just heard the story, and they all wanted to get involved,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 truly a testament to this community that we have here. I knew there were some really great people, but I didn鈥檛 realize how much support they could bring for someone they barely knew. I just thought that was awesome.鈥�
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From the GoFundMe page:
鈥淥ur friend Jonathan, known to many as 鈥楶rimo鈥� needs our help. In early December Jonathan caught pneumonia and despite trying to soldier through it, he ended up in the Emergency Room. Primo doesn鈥檛 have insurance and he鈥檚 now facing a staggering medical bill. In addition to being a student a Herndon High School, Jonathan works multiple jobs to support himself and his family. He鈥檚 considering dropping out to take on yet another job to pay this bill. If we can all pitch in, even a little bit, we might be able to cover the expenses and keep Primo on the path to graduation. If you know Primo, you know just how wonderful a guy he is. He needs our help. Please consider donating today.鈥�
Donations of $10, $50, $100 and more came pouring in. The GoFundMe page hit its $4,197 goal within a day, and the total has now risen to nearly $5,000.
The money is currently in a special account, being handled by Ryan鈥檚 mother, Kristina. It will soon be transferred to pay the bill in full, with some cash left over to help Jonathan鈥檚 other expenses.
Jonathan said he is hopeful that he can pursue a career in the U.S. Marine Corps once he is done with school. He is involved in the ROTC program at Herndon High and he has been talking with a recruiter about making his dream a reality.
鈥�(I鈥檇 be) serving the country that has helped me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just want to protect my family and my friends, so they can have the rights that they have.鈥�
Ryan said that selfless determination is further proof of the type of human being 鈥淧rimo,鈥� his 鈥渃ousin,鈥� is.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just a nice guy, really kind,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淗e really is loved by this community.鈥�
