Emilio’s Story

When Emilio was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), his parents Richard & Diane Nares, felt their world turned upside down cycling through emotions including fear, promise, desperation, and hope. Despite a relapse, intensive chemotherapy, marrow registry search, and a transplant, the Nares family say they felt lucky. They had family, friends, even strangers reaching out to help them. However, while living at the hospital, it became clear not everyone has the same kind of support.

After Emilio passed away just before his sixth birthday, he passed the torch on to his parents who honored his memory by creating the Emilio Nares Foundation (ENF) to help low-income underserved families meet basic needs, especially transportation. Emilio’s spirit can be felt in the hundreds of young patients ENF helps annually — laughter in the van, a comforting hand during hard times at the hospital, and the smiling eyes of our families. He looks after us all.