18 hours Ago By Reg Chapman
HASTINGS, Minn. — A Hollywood A-lister has come to the help of an immigrant living in Minnesota as he fights a serious illness. In the Romao house in Hastings, evenings are spent watching re-runs in Portuguese.
It's a moment of peace for middle school sweethearts Alana and Murilo, who are just happy to be out of a hospital room "He never gets sick, just a cold here and there," said Alana Romao. "And on that day, he was in bed and can't even get up." Last September, what seemed like a bad cold was something much worse.
After running several tests, they were sent to see an oncologist. "And he just dropped the bomb, like, 'You have leukemia, we just don't know what type yet,'" she said. The type was Ph+ acute lymphoblastic blood cancer.
And for 25 days, TV nights were spent in a hospital bed in between chemo treatments. "They said, 'We will go with all, full force, like we will try to kill you without killing you,'" she said. The pain was not only physical but financial because of insurance complications due to their immigrant status.
"First thing they ask is your social security number, and if you don't have one, they laugh at you," she said. Before moving to Minnesota eight years ago, Alana Romao came to the U.S.
on a student visa and is now trying to get a work visa — but the bills are piling up. "Just to pay rent, eat and go to the hospital, because it's a 40-minute drive," she said. With nothing to lose, she reached out to online influencers like Quentin Quarantino, who was putting together $100,000 for families in need with donations from celebrities.
"And he said to me, 'We will do that, I will help you. I have a really famous person helping me with this, I cannot tell you right now,'" she said. That's when a donation came in from actress Kristen Bell.
The "Frozen" and Netflix star donated nearly $25,000 to put Murilo Romao over his $50,000 goal. The battle is not over, but the Romaos now have a much-needed moment to relax. Their hospital bills have surpassed $500,000.
While the online donation drive hit its goal, the family is still collecting any help it can get. Reg Chapman joined WCCO-TV in May of 2009. He came to WCCO from WNBC-TV in New York City where he covered an array of stories for the station including the Coney Island plane crash, the crane collapse on the city's east side, 50 shots fired at motorist Sean Bell by New York Police, and a lacrosse team assault at Fairfield High School in Connecticut.
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