family in need
One night this past March, Nataly complained of excruciating stomach pain. Soon she and her parents learned the wrenching diagnosis: cancer. Since then, every three weeks, for five consecutive, arduous days, Nataly, without complaint, checks into a hospital, steeling herself for chemotherapy treatments. “She tries her best to endure the chemos,” Vividian says proudly of her little sister, “because they’re hard.” The diagnosis triggered a cruel circle of more hardships, which the family seems to handle by drawing even tighter. To care for Nataly full-time, Patricia quit her job in a Round Rock school cafeteria, the first time in 20 years she has not worked. Alejandro’s job as a janitor at an Austin hospital pays barely enough to cover the monthly $1,300 mortgage, he says. Then consumed by Nataly’s devastating illness and mounting medical bills, Patricia says she and Alejandro learned that they had amassed more than $6,000 in fines levied by their homeowners association because their lawn died. It wasn’t long before the Sanchezes fell behind on their mortgage, too. “This has all been so very hard,” Patricia says with a mother’s weariness. Patricia with the youngest of her girls, Arely, alongside Alexis, Nataly and Vividian. “This has all been so very hard,” says Partricia.
Humble, hard-workers and quietly driven to fend for themselves, the Sanchezes are not used to asking for a hand out. “I’ve always had at least two jobs,” Patricia adds pensively, “because that’s what it takes.” But just as Nataly’s illness turned their lives upside down without warning, the kindness strangers has jolted them, too, stirring their hearts to consider a possibility they did not know existed. With Nataly’s diagnosis social workers began helping the family. The Round Rock Ballet Folklorico, in which Nataly, an avid dancer belongs, held a benefit, raising $3,500. Nataly’s fellow students and teachers at Union Hill Elementary gave her a bed and small TV. The charitable organization Caring Communities donated food and a $200 gift card, and it continues to support the family’s non-medical needs. “To learn there are people who actually care enough to help someone they barely know or might not know at all,” Alexis says. “It’s helped so much.” The Sanchezes used the monetary donations to catch up on their bills and to buy grass for the front yard to avert more fines. “I just hope and pray that my little girl will get better,” Patricia says at the kitchen table in the family’s modest, three-bedroom, two-bath home, her ebullient daughters gathered around her. She fights back tears.
Soon infectious giggles lighten the mood. Nataly smiles. “She never loses the smile,” Alexis says. In June, the Sanchez family became a client of The Care Communities, a nonprofit that provides a “Care Team” of volunteers to offer practical, non-medical support to people
“There is nothing worse than going through cancer alone. Our staff and Care Team envelop the family in love, assuring them that someone in their community cares, and donations will help us meet some of the Sanchez family’s needs.” with a serious illness. Their social workers help clients obtain basic needs like food, housing, insurance and income assistance. Today, The Care Communities serves 80 families in Travis and Williamson Counties, using 475 volunteers. “Our role is to offer the Sanchez some help with errands, lawn care, light house cleaning… really, whatever support they need to make their lives easier as they focus on getting Nataly better,” says executive director Carol Johnson. “There is nothing worse than going through cancer alone. Our staff and Care Team envelop the family in love, assuring them that someone in their community cares. “Donations to Care Communities will help us meet some of the needs of the Sanchez family,” says Johnson, “and hopefully some of our other clients, too.”
Working with the nonprofit Care Commmunities, GivingCity identified some ways to help the Sanchez family Help paying medical bills for Nataly • mortgage payments assistance • utility assistance • home owners association fees assistance • tuition assistance for Alexis • grocery store, restaurant and gas cards • new bedding and pillows for king-, double- and full-sized beds • chemical-free sunscreen and personal products for Nataly • shoes and clothing for girls, ages 3, 11, 16 and 19 • personal products and makeup for girls • hair appointment for mother • gift cards, movie passes, books, videos and fun items to occupy girls in the summer Please donate at TheCareCommunities.org
Summer 2012 39