A couple of years ago a young family had moved from Reno to Redwood City. A family of five, two adults and three boys ages 7, 9 and 13. They all lived in one room.

The father said his wife had a neurological operation in Reno. She was a cancer patient. When she woke up after the operation she was blind and partially paralyzed. She was treated at Stanford hospital for nearly a year and then was transferred to a convalescent hospital in Marin County.

Our volunteers continued to visit and assist the family who had remained in Redwood City.

The husband’s parents came from Mexico to help them. When his mother knew the volunteers were coming to visit at Christmas, she baked a pumpkin and unrefined sugar dessert from Michoacan for the volunteers (it was a very good dessert!!). Another time the volunteers took their son and grandchild. The little boy was extremely proud to help take the tortillas to the family.

They moved back to Reno so that the children could go back to their schools. Their father could get his old job back as a stone mason.

The eldest son phoned us at St. Raymond Conference and said that his mother had died. We were very saddened by the news.