COLLEGE STATION, Texas — In March, Jorge Chunga, the owner of the popular Fusion Peru restaurant on Texas Avenue in College Station, was hospitalized with a severe lung bacterial infection that quickly led to sepsis.
“Honestly, week one, we thought he wasn’t going to make it," said Chunga's son Carlo. "The doctors were telling my mom 'Be ready, tell your son to come home to say your goodbyes'. They were telling us these things, 'He might not make it so come back and say your goodbyes,'” said Carlos Chunga.
In April, the family received a glimmer of hope in their father’s journey to recovery.
“After that, he was on a ventilator, he couldn’t breathe, and then a month later they did a tracheostomy to breathe better and get the bacteria out of his lungs and then that began his process to take out all the bacteria that was in his lungs,” Carlo Chunga continued.
Jorge Chunga has been a beloved member of the Bryan-College Station community and his passion for his craft showed in his restaurant’s success.
“It’s really hard for a lot of us because my dad is always known to be a happy person," Carlo Chunga said. "Always loves being at the restaurant cooking and being there for people.”
The Chunga family has been struggling to pay for his recovery on their own.
“It was really hard for us to get the word out that this really caring person was going through a lot and that we need the help, but once we saw the bills, I told my mom 'We need to get the GoFundMe page started because we cannot afford this," said Chunga.
So far, the community has rallied around the Chunga family and has raised over $27,000 from the $50,000 goal to pay for the hospital expenses.
The GoFundMe can be found here: Fundraiser for Sofia Chunga Pizarro by Carlo Chunga : Support Jorge's Recovery and Medical Bills (gofundme.com)
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