Happy Anniversary, Ophelio!

Today is my little sister’s 21^st birthday. I wish her nothing but health, happiness and growth. But today’s story is not about my baby sis.

Today, I also want to wish Ophelio, my new tow truck driving go to a Happy Anniversary. Today is his 15^th anniversary of being in remission from Hodgekin’s Lymphoma. Last week, while he was helping me with my organization’s exploded rat in car engine debacle, he told me his story…

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Before driving a tow truck, Ophelio was an architect working hard on jobs and not treating himself so well –not enough rest, not eating right, etc. Every night, he would have a fever and break out into terrible night sweats. In the early, early morning hours, he’d be awake and still sweating, he’d shower, feel all right and go to work again.

One day, he had another feverish sweat, but still took a shower and went to work. As he was sitting in front of his computer, all of a sudden, he blacked out. By the time 911 came, his temperature was so high that they had to put him in a bathtub of ice at the hospital, just like in the movies! When I asked him if he was conscious and scared in the tub, he said, “No, I was scared when they told me I had 3 months to live!”

He began chemo at Columbia Presbyterian but the chemo, the hospital environment and the back and forth to just his hospital room began to depress him and he asked his doctor if his insurance would pay for outpatient treatment. They wouldn’t. “I’m tellin’ you. Insurance is there to kill you, not save you!”

His doctor wrote him a letter recommending him for Medicaid. They wouldn’t take him because he made too much money. It wasn’t enough for treatment, though. Ophelio decided to go to the NY Cancer Society for help. They accepted his request and paid for his outpatient treatment. Meanwhile, his mother taught him natural treatments and he began to eat healthier. He told me all about the seeds and drinks that he imbibed that he believes made him better.

When his last check for $13,000 from the Cancer Society came, he returned it. He didn’t need it anymore. “You sent it back?!!?” I exclaimed.

He grinned at himself broadly. “I sent it back! I knew the same way I needed that money, somebody else needed that money, too, so I sent it back, even though everybody told me I was stupid for doing it! Money is nothing. It comes and goes,” he shrugged.

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Though that day was an awful and unproductive day, I’m kind of thankful that little rata exploded in our car. Otherwise, I would never have been able to meet Ophelio, listen to his story, learn from him and smile with him. It was one of those interactions with a stranger that’s just pure human connection and love.

So, Happy Anniversary, Ophelio. Here’s to 15 years more!