For years, he helped decorate the Donate Life Rose Parade floats and helped his family with A Ride Across America, riding ATVs from California to New York to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation. After his death, his own organ and tissue donation helped more than 40 people to live on.
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While battling an incurable disease that progressively scarred and shrunk her lungs, 44-year-old Gamboa flew across the globe in search of a surgeon who would perform the double lung transplant and save her life. And then, when she finally did find a hospital that would treat her— the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio— the Caracas, Venezuela, native needed to find a way to foot the $250,000 operation bill.
To help cover what would amount to nearly $700,000 in medical and travel expenses, Gamboa’s friends and family sold handmade bracelets. They established a foundation called “Respirar es Vivir,” which translates to “Breathing is Life,” and today continue to sell bracelets to benefit other Hispanic patients who can’t afford crucial respiratory care.
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