After the doctors' examined Cristian and reviewed his MRI, his family received the worst news of their lives. The tumor was inoperable and the average lifespan for a child with Pontine Glioma after diagnosis is 9 to 18 months.
Cristian fought his battle with Pontine Glioma for 2 years and a few days. Cristian's mother and father never gave up hope. They prayed that God would heal their beloved child. Cristian kept fighting against this form of cancer. He passed away on January 25, 2009, in the loving arms of his mother and father.
His father, John "Gungie" Rivera is the founder of the "Cristian Rivera Foundation."
Cristian's story magnifies just how important the work of the Cristian Rivera Foundation truly is. That work is to find a cure for the inoperable Pontine Glioma brain stem tumor that ultimately claimed the life of Cristian Rivera. Your tax-deductible donation to the Cristian Rivera Foundation will one day find a cure for Pontine Glioma so no other family will have to suffer the grief that Cristian Rivera's family has endured.
Fernando Ferrer, the first Latino Mayoral candidate in New York City history and friend of John "Gungie" Rivera and Cristian Rivera, has honored the Cristian Rivera Foundation by becoming a member of the Cristian Rivera Foundation committee.
The Cristian Rivera Foundation is a New York City based not-for-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for Pontine Glioma through education and program funding.
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The objectives of the Cristian Rivera Foundation are as follows:
1. To raise money to find the cure for Pontine Glioma brain tumors
2. To raise awareness for Pontine Glioma
The Cristian Rivera Foundation shall:
1. Increase public awareness and understanding of Pontine Glioma
2. Support families, medical facilities and scientific research& trials whose primary focus is to find a cure for Pontine Glioma
3. Mobilize the entertainment industry to fund raise for the Cristian Rivera Foundation and by extension raise funds for a cure for Pontine Glioma
ON THE NET:
www.cristianriverafoundation.org
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