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Sunday Funday Moment: El Paso man is wrapping Christmas gifts to raise money for his cancer treatments

KVIA

EL PASO, Texas-- One El Paso man is hoping his wrapping skills will help him beat his second fight with cancer.

After Stephanie Guzman found out that her dad, Don Leo, was diagnosed with cancer for a second time she took to social media to spread the word that her dad would be offering to wrap Christmas presents to help raise money for his upcoming cancer treatments.

Don Leo was recently diagnosed with Olfactory Neuroblastoma, a rare cancer between his nasal cavity and brain.

Wrapping Christmas presents is a stress reliever for Don Leo and a way for him to stay busy.

"Knowing that you have cancer can stress you out. Even the financial thing can be overwhelming. So it relaxes him and it takes his mind off of things," said Stephanie.

Don Leo's recent diagnosis made it difficult for him to continue working which meant paying for medical expenses was going to be a challenge,
especially since he would have to travel to Houston for his upcoming surgery.

"We found out on Friday that he has to go to Houston because there's not a doctor here that can do that type of surgery," explained Stephanie, "this is how I came up with the idea. Since he cant work I decided that since he likes wrapping presents I would let me let my friends know that my dad was wrapping presents for donations."

Stephanie posted a photo of her dad and his gift wrapping skills on her Facebook page.

"Within hours it was at 100 shares and I went to sleep and it was at 400!"

As of Sunday morning, Stephanie's Facebook post has been liked over 800 times and shared over 700 times.

"It's a really good feeling that there's people we don't even know willing to help out someone they don't even know," said Stephanie.

For Don Leo, it was a great satisfaction knowing that he would be able to help others while they helped him in return.

"He really takes his time. It's something that he really enjoys and it makes me happy to see him happy," said Stephanie.

The simple task of wrapping Christmas gifts is serving as a way for Don Leo to forget his worries and put a smile on other's faces come Christmas morning.

"I think that at this time that's the best medicine for him is happiness and cheer," said Stephanie.

So far Don Leo has received 10 gifts to wrap and completed them within a day.

We asked him what's he going to do when our viewers read his story and flood his home with hundreds of gifts to wrap! He responded, "I'll stay here for 24 hrs because as the responsible person I am if I promise something I have to do it."

If you would like to help Don Leo by letting him wrap your Christmas presents or by making a donation, Click Here.

Article Topic Follows: Sunday Funday

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Iris Lopez

Iris Lopez is a weathercaster and reporter for ABC-7.

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