Kristen Bell is donating thousands to help a Twin Cities man battle cancer

HASTINGS, Minn – A Hollywood star has come to the aid of an immigrant living in Minnesota struggling with a serious illness.

At the Romao House in Hastings, evenings are spent watching reruns in Portuguese. It’s a moment of peace for middle school students Alana and Murilo, who are just happy to no longer be in the hospital room

“He never gets sick, just a cold here and there,” Alana Romao said. “And that day he lay in bed and couldn’t even get up.”

Last September, what seemed like a bad cold was much worse. After running several tests, they were sent to an oncologist.

“And he just dropped the bombshell and said, ‘You have leukemia, we just don’t know what type it is yet,'” she said.

The type was Ph+ acute lymphoblastic blood cancer. And for 25 days, between chemotherapy treatments, they spent evenings watching television in a hospital bed.

“They said, ‘We’re going to act with all our might, like we’re trying to kill you without killing you,'” she said.

The pain was not only physical, but also financial, as there were insurance complications due to her immigration status.

“The 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 US 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 turned to online influencers like Quentin Quarantino, who used celebrity donations to raise $100,000 for families in need.

“And he said to me: ‘We’ll do it, I’ll help you. I have a really famous person helping me with this, I can’t tell you right now,'” she said.

A donation came from actress Kristen Bell. The Frozen and Netflix star donated nearly $25,000 to help Murilo Romao exceed his $50,000 goal.

The fight is not over yet, but Roma now have a much-needed moment of relaxation.

Her hospital bills total over $500,000. While the online fundraiser has reached its goal, the family is still collecting all the help they can get.