Hello everyone, 

My name is Leandro Correa and my "little' brother Raphael Correa has been a LAKA(Left Above Knee Amputee) since May 4th, 2013. I love him to death and have always been by his said through all 23 years of his life thus far. 

  At first he was active and trying to live through the loss of his leg and he was doing well with what he had; researching all the prosthetic legs out there and actually trying some of them out at Mary Free Bed. If you know Raphael, you know he used to be a very active young man and could smile for dayss.. He hasnt been smiling much lately.

  With the pressure of being in the Andrews University DPT program and learning to do every daily task in a new way without a limb has taken a huge hit on him. (Hopping in and out of the bathroom every morning; wishing he didnt have to get up.. And the list goes on and on.) He's angry inside and wishes he would have never left the house that day and worse, wishes his journey in this world could have ended at the pole that day and the next thing he would have seen is the glory of our Father and Lord, Jesus Christ calling him to live eternally.

  I love my brother and it hurts me to see his hurting everyday that goes by.. There have been good days but they havent been enough to cancel out all the bad feelings and anger he goes through.

  Im crying out to all our friends and loved ones who want to see Rapha's beautiful smile back on his face for a very long time. We all know we dont belong here in this sinful/sorrowful planet and we hope to see Jesus' second coming ASAP but our reality for now, is here on a place we call Earth. In order for Rapha to get back on his feet and feel fulfilled again with God by his side, he needs to be able to experience the sweetness of life here on earth that he used to before he lost his leg. Running, bicycling, snowboarding, hiking, working out, were all things he truly enjoyed but now they have all become a burden without the right equipment.

  Amputees suffer with the loss of a limb, or 2, or 3 and they need something to replace their loss. In my brother's situation, he needs various legs in order to live a "normal" life and do things he enjoys. But those legs arent cheap! He was blessed to recieve a $60k Ossur Rheo 3 knee through his insurance at no cost other paying his monthly premium of $65; HUGE BLESSING! But when it comes to activity prosthetics for running, biking, snowboarding, etc, the USA health insurance system believes that those are luxuries and not necessary for daily living. I strongly disagree with that because in order to have a mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy life, we need to explore God's creation and STAY ACTIVE.

  My request from all of you today is to truly think about my brother Raphael and his well-being and help him achieve his goals. Together we can do BIG things! An Ottobock 3S80 knee with a 1E90 Sport Sprinter carbon foot is the setup he tried at Mary Free Bed and it costs about $8k for that running setup. The Moto Knee made by Biodapt Inc with the Versa foot allows him to snowboard and do all the outdoor activities he enjoys and that costs about $10k. So as you can see $18k is our goal in order to get the proper equipment for the daily activites he once loved to do.

  We have tried fundraising with AKA shirts that he created here and there whenever he gets called to share his testimony in different locations but we havent been able to get anywhere near our goal of $18k. If 1000 ppl (AU, GNYC, and others we may know that are willing to join) got together and donated $20, that ALONE would raise up $20,000! I believe thats a very feasible task. The $20,000 will cover the equipment costs and travel expenses to where they will be bought and installed; a socket will also need to be made for each leg. Please share your thoughts and help Raphael Correa continue to push on and see what God has instore in his life.

  PS - the cars you may see in our pictures and etc are all investments in order to pay for school so please don't think Raphael is abusing the help he gets from all of you.. God Bless you all and have a great day!