Gabriel Portillo passed away Wednesday morning, according to his family. Portillo, 21, was fighting stage four cancer, he was diagnosed four months ago unexpectedly. The cancer unknowingly originated and spread from his pancreas to his lymph nodes.
Days before Christmas doctors at UMC told the Portillo family that their 21-year-old son has one week left to live.
Portillo surpassed that one week long prognosis and lived a month longer. His aunt, Sandra Portillo, said he passed away Wednesday morning at home with family.
“He stayed faithful to the Lord all the way to the end. He put up a good fight,” said Sandra. “We love him and we know he’s gone on to a better place. To everyone kiss your loved ones every day show your love because tomorrow is not promised.”
Portillo, a Lubbock Cooper graduate, was fighting stage four cancer which unknowingly originated and spread from his pancreas to his lymph nodes.
He was treated at UMC and had gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
The family is grateful for the staff at UMC and the excellent care of nurses who have helped decorate Gabriel’s hospital room.
“Our Christmas miracle is to be able to keep him here through Christmas,” said Sandra in a December interview. “Our Christmas miracle is to be able to bring him home.”
Portillo is a 2013 graduate of Lubbock Cooper High where he played varsity football. He had plans to attend South Plains College and his aunt said his main concern was always how he would care for his sisters and his mom.
“They [Gabriel and his mom] are always together, they literally are best friends,” said his sister Jasmine Portillo in a December interview.
“He smiles at everything it doesn’t matter how bad things are it doesn’t matter how good things are he smiles,” said Sandra in a December interview.
If you’re interested in contributing, you can help the Portillo family out out by donating to his GoFund me page here: https://www.gofundme.com/bnfwy8hk. The family is collecting funds for medical bills and now funeral plans.
