Pitt QB shaves head for girl recovering from transplant, family facing immigration issues

Pitt Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein, his teammates and coaches are doing their part to boost the spirits of Julia Espinosa.

The 13-year-old patient at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has complex health issues that prompted her to decide to shave her head after she lost most of her hair.

Her parents, Nicolas Espinosa and Maria Saenz, have been forced to deal with issues surrounding their immigration status as they work to care for their daughter.

Espinosa and Saenz are from Ecuador. They came to the United States for Espinosa’s graduate studies in California and later moved to Miami, where Julia was born.

Julia was born with a birth defect called volvulus, an intestinal disorder that required most of the organ to be removed. Unable to eat normally, she required specialized medical care. The family moved to Seattle for the treatment, which is unavailable in Ecuador and even limited in the U.S. When Julia’s doctor in Seattle, Dr. Simon Horslen, moved to UPMC Children’s Hospital, they followed him to Pittsburgh in 2023. She has since received a multivisceral transplant.

Espinosa and Saenz’s status has been deferred because of Julia’s health issues. Whether the family can remain in the U.S. remains unsolved and at-risk given the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, international student visas and research institutions.

“We’re still fighting that, we just do our best,” Espinosa said, but he declined to provide more details about their situation.

Julia and her older sister Valentina, who was born in California, are U.S. citizens.

The family’s unique plight was detailed in a 2022 story by the Kaiser Health Foundation that noted how difficult navigating the U.S. immigration system was then, during the Biden administration.

None of this was mentioned Friday, when Horslen, Saenz and Julia’s sister Valentina joined Holstein in giving up a few locks of their hair to show their support for Julia.

On Jan. 15, Julia received a small intestine, liver and pancreas — a transplant she’s been waiting more than three years to receive.

The hope is that one day Julia will be able to eat normally, her father told TribLive on Friday.

They take things “day by day,” Espinosa said. “It’s a roller coaster for us.”

The family’s affection for Julia was evident Friday, as was the support of the hospital staff as a roomful of people gathered to watch her use clippers to sheer Holstein’s hair, cut off several inches of her mother’s hair and a lock of her sister’s.

Espinosa was emotional as he told his daughter how much of an inspiration she was and played a video of her medical journey.

Holstein said he and other Pitt players met Julia earlier this year and forged a bond with her. He shaved his head to offer moral support, he said.

“I wanted to show her she is not alone,” Holstein said. “Pitt Football is behind her. The whole Pitt community is behind her.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Espinosa and Saenz married in Miami. They were married when they moved from Ecuador to California.