Courtesy photo.
By Armando Vazquez / Guest contributor
There once was born a magical and loving child, a golden boy! He was stardust that had travelled many light-years through the deepest, darkest and furthest expanses of the universe. In fact this stardust had travel for more than 15 light years or about 90 trillion miles to reach one desperately longing young woman, who wanted nothing more in her life than to be a mother. An army of doctors had told her that it would never, ever, happen, she was sterile. Impossible to become pregnant they told her, yet she never stopped praying to an unknown God that she had rejected all of her life. Why was she praying now? It was as though the closer the golden star dust travelled across the universe toward the woman the more she felt mysteriously compelled to pray.
And then one day behold the miraculous stardust had taken embryonic form, and the woman was pregnant. Miraculous life was now kicking in her belly! Shortly the golden child was born. On the first day of Spring! The golden baby brought immediate happiness, fulfilment and love to the woman, her husband, and the family. Time would pass and it seemed that the golden child would continue to spread love and happiness wherever he was and with everyone he met, forever and ever. His family, love ones, and friends all marvelled at how lovingly focused he was to hard work, commitment, and dedication to each and every single task that the golden child undertook to learn, practice and master. The golden child had the discipline of a monk, and the love and admiration everyone that came into his holy and blessed orbit.
Then one day the boy, now a teenage youth, felt a numbing of his feet and his hands. The younth thought that it was a case of mere exhaustion. He was hitting the books to hard. Burning the academic midnight oil excessively, with the absolutely crystal clear goal that would shortly would propel him into a humble and honorable life in public service. Yet the numbness of the extremities would not subside. He tried to convince himself maybe he was working a bit too much, pushing a bit too hard. A little rest, tender loving care and mediation would relieve the annoying numbing and pain in the extremities. The numbing did not go away, in fact it only worsened. Soon the golden child was fight both the numbing of the extremities, and also fighting an acutely debilitating pain, fatigue, and significant muscle weakness and paralysis.
The horrific and painful affliction became chronic, the youthful teenager was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Multiple is a debilitating, painful, and inflammatory disease of still unknown origin that involves an immune-mediated attack by the body’s own white blood cells on the central nervous system. Myelin and the nerves of the central nervous system are the primary targets of the nerve damaging and inflammatory attacks, creating extremely high level of debilitating pain, nerve damage and physical and cognitive impartments that persisted and drag out into day-in day-out marathon battles against the ravages of the disease. The MS fight will continue for this brave young man into future weeks, months and then years due to the unrelenting, unpredictable, and still incurable affliction of Multiple Sclerosis attacks that have render the young man completely bedridden for extensive periods of time in the past.
The path that the golden young man had meticulous planned and carved out for himself was first modified, then altered, and finally completely abandoned. The golden young man would now take on one task at a time. He would not let the MS defeat him and control his body, mind, life and dreams. No matter how hard the golden young man fought the disease, it only got worse. Nothing he, the family, his medical team tried seemed to work, the young man was suffering major and acutely debilitating MS attacks every 3 to 4 months apart, for over a 7 year period. As the young man suffered, so did his family. The MS was destroying the young man’s will to fight on and tearing apart his family.
But giving up is not part of this young man’s DNA makeup. He pulled himself from off the bed and began to again, again, and again to do battle with the Multiple Sclerosis, and miraculously, incrementally the young man’s courage and determination began to produce promising and healing results. This young man has fought the ravages of MS for 17 years now and he is now winning the war. A permanent cure is now right around the scientific corner. I know it, my son will be cured. We push on and we work hard and battle.
Today this golden young man is 34 years of age. I hear him get out of bed, I pray to my God that my son is blessed with a good day, he deserves it. I walk up to him, we embrace, I can feel his love, his formidable, and his warrior courage.
“How are mijo? I ask tenderly.
“I had a good night. I rested well” my son smiles at me.
“Tamales today just for you mijo, and we’ll watch all the March Madness games” I gently kiss my son on his forehead. I look out the kitchen window, as my son prepares his morning coffee, and the brilliant sun smiles at us and shine in its warming radiance.
“Happy birthday son. I love you” I smile.
“Thank you dad, I love you too” He smiles back and returns to his room.
We both pray that today his MS will subside sufficiently and long enough so that he can enjoy his birthday, the first day of Spring, and all the love, best wishes and blessing that his family, his friends and other folks that have heard of this young man incredible story will bestow upon him today. This golden young man deserves it!
You are my hero son,
Armando Vazquez (March 20, 2021)
— Armando Vazquez, M.Ed., founding member of CORE and the Acuna Art Gallery and Community Collective.