FOLLOW UP STORY
BY JOE ARCE
Cancer survivor Michelle Shelly Ojeda could see and feel the love, support and blessing this past weekend as her taco fundraiser was in full swing. The tacos were being fried, stuffed and served as the DJ played a mixture of American and Mexican music. Hundreds of families, friends and co-workers of Ojeda were eating the homemade tacos, desserts and yes there was shopping in a form of raffles items. Much needed dollars were coming her way to help her with medicines and medical bills that will keep her healthy for months and years to come.
As Hispanic News first reported last month, Ojeda, a single mother of five who works full-time and prides herself on being fiercely independent, had gone on her Facebook page and posted a very emotional personal and humbling post asking for help to cover her on going medical bills and medicine.
Ojeda said in our first report, “A friend of mine kept offering to help me get this fundraiser organized. I’ve had to learn to accept offers of help, and to stop being so hard headed. ” Ojeda explained, “I need to say OK and take them up on their offer. I’m not used to that. I’m used to doing things on my own.”
That independent spirit meant that Ojeda was trying to soldier through the days of intense pain she felt in her abdomen in late October 2016. She had kids to raise, a job to keep. She didn’t have the time or the money to investigate the source of the pain that relentlessly attacked her day and night. One day, after crying herself to sleep in agony, Ojeda’s son urged his mother to visit a doctor.
Physicians detected inflammation in Ojeda’s stomach and 100 gallstones in her gall bladder – and then there was the malignant tumor, the primary source of her pain, which doctors said she likely had lived with for two to three years and didn’t even know it. She underwent surgery to have her gall bladder and part of her colon removed.
Months of follow-up treatments caused Ojeda further physical pain, but on Aug. 3, 2017, doctors delivered the news that her treatments were over and the cancer was in remission.
But another pain lingered – the pain of having to deal with mounting medical bills just kept coming.
“It’s just been hard since then,” Ojeda admitted. “Financially, it’s been hard for me. … I’ve been making the payments that I can… they’ve been understanding, but I have a lot of bills that I’ve incurred. And going in for further testing – it’s just going to be harder. And if I can’t be healthy, I can’t take care of my children.”
A friend of the family, Adrianna Palacio, suggested hosting a taco fundraiser to help pay those seemingly insurmountable bills. She helped Ojeda to post a Facebook request for assistance – and, like it always does, the West Side community responded immediately and what Ojeda also saw was an overwhelming support coming her way from the entire metro area of Missouri and Kansas.
Palacio said, “Sometimes, helping someone and paying it forward helps us through our struggle. When Ojeda thinks we are helping her, she is really helping us. We’ve all crossed each other’s paths at one time or another. It’s when people come together and help each other out when it’s time to help out.”
As Hispanic News entered the fundraiser at Reich’s Club in KCK, we could see the lines forming of people to buy tickets for food, raffle and desserts. Everyone knew the money raised was going for a very good cause.
For Ojeda, the response of her fundraiser has been overwhelming, “I feel so blessed, all the love and generosity from the community, friends and family as well. Ojeda learned that nearly 3,500 people had read her story in KC Hispanic News. “ I had so many people reach out to me on Facebook, text and by phone. People that I didn’t even know offering to donate something and asking what else I needed… again, yea it’s been extremely overwhelming, I’m very blessed.
Ojeda added so often when people attend a taco fundraiser for a person dealing with cancer it can be a difficult and a sad experience because that person may be in the hospital or has passed away but in her case she was at her own fundraiser event helping out in the kitchen, serving tacos doing what ever needed to get done. Ojeda said she’s feeling pretty good and she wants to do her part. “I feel like I’m getting a second chance at life. I don’t take things for granted, I live my life to the fullest… I encourage everyone to do the same thing. Ojeda had a special message to all those who participated, volunteered, cooked, DJ and those who made donations to her, “I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart… I want you to know I love you all… I want you to know I’m extremely grateful.”
Ojeda’s daughter, Monique Arellano, told Hispanic News at the fundraiser she was so happy that her mother posted that she needed help on her Facebook page. “I was super excited to see my mom put her pride down (share her story) and to see my friend Adrianna Palacio help after that… it was like okay what next, what do we have to do. I’m so proud of my mom. I see so much strength in her and I’m proud of her for allowing us to help her. Growing up I have seen my mom as a strong women and the amount of love coming from the West Side community and outside of the community and the Hispanic community is so overwhelming. I’m so grateful seeing this happen, I saw my mom crying one day about this… I told her it’s okay and one day it hit me and I understood what she was talking about, so much love, so much support, it’s awesome.”
For more information or to donate, call Adrianna Palacio at (913) 335-2302.
