Ariel Winter is asking her followers for support as her cousin fights for his life in the hospital.
On Monday, the Modern Family actress, 21, opened up in a post on her Instagram Stories that her cousin Tino was rushed to the hospital on Friday after suffering a life-threatening infection.
Though Tino — who was in the Intensive Care Unit on life support at the time of her post — has been making steady progress, Winter explained that his condition would affect him for quite some time.
“The wonderful doctors at the hospital he is currently at have worked tirelessly to find out what is making him sick,” she explained alongside a photo of the pair together.
“They said that if he hadn’t gone on Friday he most likely wouldn’t have made it,” Winter continued. “They have made some progress diagnosing him and he is a little bit better, but will be in the hospital and unable to work for a long time.”
Referring to Tino as “an incredible person who deserves all the love and support in the world,” Winter made a plea to her followers that they consider donating to his GoFundMe campaign, which she linked to the story.
The actress then followed up her initial post with a photo of her between Tino and his girlfriend Krista, whom she praised for saving his life and never leaving his side. She also added another shot of herself with Tino with a red heart emoji above the pair.
On the GoFundMe, Tino’s loved ones confirmed that he had been diagnosed with Haemophilus Influenzae — a type of bacteria that can lead to various infections — and explained that it “could have led to untreatable and deadly bacterial Meningitis.”
They also revealed that Tino had since been released from the Intensive Care Unit but remained in the hospital under close monitoring as he slowly worked towards recovery.
“Tino is still in pain and not completely out of hot water but things are turning towards the better much faster than expected,” the description reads.
Since the campaign was created on Monday, it has raised over $16,900 — in part due to Winter’s Modern Family costar Sarah Hyland, who generously (and discreetly) donated $2,500 to the actress’ cousin.
Hyland’s kind gesture contributed to helping Tino’s campaign reach beyond the $15,000 goal.
RELATED: Sarah Hyland Claps Back at ‘Pervs’ Commenting on Ariel Winter’s Instagram: ‘Get Offline’
This isn’t the first time Hyland, 28, has outwardly supported her costar. The actress came to the defense of Winter last June after Internet trolls started making inappropriate comments on her Instagram.
Winter posted a make-up free photo of herself wearing a grey tank top while pumping gas, which was captioned, “Honestly the ONLY reason I’m posting this is because I’ve never seen a more accurate picture of myself,” which prompted users to make crude remarks about her body in the comment section.
Hyland finally stepped in and wrote, “To all the pervs commenting on this post? GET OFFLINE AND GET BACK TO YOUR BLOWUP DOLL YA CREEPS!”
Hyland also previously told PEOPLE she helped Winter learn the importance of body confidence and has always tried to be a good role model for her costar, who frequently deals with public criticism over her body.
“It’s about being confident in your self, and not letting people’s hateful words get to you,” she said. “Just surround yourself with positivity and not let the negativity get to you.”
“I like to think we — me, Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara — helped her be confident with her body and herself,” Hyland added.
“I mean, she was 11 years old when I met her. I was 18. I tried to be a good role model for her, and a true older sister for her because she’s such a sweet little girl.”
from PEOPLE.com http://bit.ly/2WS2ceS
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