MANHATTAN, IL \u2014 Their faces have become increasingly familiar as their taco catering business has served thousands in the area, and now the Pantoja family is turning to the community for support amid a dire situation. <\/p>\n
Angie and Dap (David) Pantoja\u2014the forces behind “The Taco Man”\u2014are facing a medical emergency, as doctors work to fight off an infection rapidly spreading within Angie. Stemming from a problematic wisdom tooth, if not contained, the infection could kill her, doctors have said. <\/p>\n
“I wouldn\u2019t wish this on anybody,” Pantoja said. “It\u2019s a nightmare.”<\/p>\n
Find out what’s happening in Manhattanfor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n
It’s a crisis that has brought the tight-knit family of four even closer as they rally around Angie, 42. Dap and their children David II (21) and Aaliyah (18) stay by her side, as she undergoes successive surgeries often just hours apart. Doctors are battling the infection from the inside, scraping it and spotting areas where it might have spread. First hospitalized on Sunday, each day is critical, and so much is still unknown. <\/p>\n
It’s forced a pause to the business they have so lovingly built together, and a family friend has started a GoFundMe to support them<\/a>. As of Thursday evening, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $10,000. <\/p>\n Find out what’s happening in Manhattanfor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n “Dap\u2014known and loved by so many in our community as ‘The Taco Man’\u2014has put everything on hold to be by Angie\u2019s side, where he needs to be most, which means he is unable to work or serve the community during this time,” Monique Proper wrote in the fundraiser. “The emotional toll is heavy, and the financial strain only adds to the weight they are carrying.” <\/p>\n Pantoja’s popular taco business has been a labor of love for the couple, who have grown it from a taco stand with just a Blackstone grill and an occasional gig, to an in-demand catering business that serves business lunches, parties, and community gatherings. <\/p>\n “Angie now calls herself ‘The Taco Lady,'” Proper said, laughing. “She\u2019s right there with him, slinging tacos, entertaining people. Their characters draw people to them\u2014they\u2019re a dynamic duo. It\u2019s profound what they\u2019ve already built upon in the last couple of years, for people to gravitate toward them.” <\/p>\n ‘The biggest hearts’ <\/p>\n Angie grew up in Manhattan, and Dap nearby in Joliet. The two met when they were just 12 years old, and recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. Proper has known Angie for 30 years, having first met when Proper moved to Manhattan at 10 years old. <\/p>\n “Her and I were inseparable growing up,” Proper said. <\/p>\n Proper then grew to love Pantoja, too, and has watched as the community has embraced the couple and their passion project. <\/p>\n “They\u2019re just wonderful people, really family-oriented,” Proper said. “They have gone all-in the last couple of years to build it into something.<\/p>\n “David\u2019s personality is pretty colorful. He\u2019s always happy, he\u2019s just a really awesome guy to be able to relate to. He\u2019s a jokester. He kinda defined his image (as The Taco Man)\u2014it fell really easily into his lap.”<\/p>\n Prior to the business, Pantoja was a union laborer\u2014a job that meant long hours, a commute to the city, and time away from his family. Taking a chance on his taco stand meant more time with them. <\/p>\n They started small\u2014pop-ups at Roadhouse 52 for summer volleyball leagues\u2014and word spread fast. His tacos are “fire,” Proper said, and everyone wants to try “The Taco Man.”<\/p>\n It’s been a grind\u2014and it’s working.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve just trying to get our name out there,” Pantoja said. “The phone kept ringing. Before, we were happy to do 1-2 jobs here and there, doing 1-2 jobs in a day now\u2014public event, then go back and do a private event.<\/p>\n “All summer, we were together all summer.”<\/p>\n Now, just as bookings were coming in for their anticipated busy season, the family is only focused on Angie getting well. The crisis began on Thursday, with pain in her wisdom tooth. By Sunday, they were at Silver Cross Hospital, then transferred immediately to University of Chicago. The infection is incredibly rare, doctors have said. Thursday marked her fourth consecutive surgery to remove the infection. Each incision is left open, David II said, allowing doctors to go back and check progress each step of the way. Surgery turnarounds are 10\u201312 hours, David II said, and based on what they find each time they go back in. <\/p>\n “It\u2019s off a visual of what they\u2019re seeing on a daily basis,” David II said. “What they see today, is what they\u2019re going to plan for tomorrow. … This stuff doesn\u2019t show up well on CT scans\u2014it disguises itself pretty well. They\u2019re learning just as much as us.”<\/p>\n Angie is awake and alert in spurts, using a whiteboard to communicate. Also a Type I diabetic, doctors are keeping a watchful eye on the trauma her body is enduring.<\/p>\n “Seeing her at 8:00, with her hopes all high, writing on her board,” Pantoja said. “Two hours later, she can\u2019t open her eyes. We just had her right back, then she\u2019s down again. It\u2019s taking a lot out of all of us.”<\/p>\n Proper said even throughout this all, Angie’s personality peeks through\u2014giving all around her a glimmer of optimism. <\/p>\n “She\u2019s staying in high spirits,” Proper said, “Her humor is still there. We\u2019re holding on to every ounce of hope.” <\/p>\n Pantoja took to social media Thursday to share an update on Angie with their followers.<\/p>\n “… while the days ahead remain uncertain, her faith and strength have been unwavering,” he wrote. “She has made it very clear that she is not giving up without a fight.”<\/p>\n He said the Manhattan community has been so important to their business, and family. <\/p>\n ‘There\u2019s just so much love from friends and family\u2014and now from just strangers, who came to our pop-ups,” he said. “Now they\u2019re like family. … It\u2019s one big family. It\u2019s a town full of good people.”<\/p>\n David II said they appreciate the support the community has shown their family so far. <\/p>\n “It\u2019s super-appreciated,” he said, of the GoFundMe. “Stuff like that allows my dad to not have to worry about work, bills like a car payment. It\u2019s appreciated. <\/p>\n “If everyone could continue prayers … we appreciate it now, we\u2019re going to continue to appreciate it.”<\/p>\n Pantoja echoed that. <\/p>\n “Keep praying,” he asks the community. <\/p>\n