This past week we attended the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center where we had a brief tour of the facility, spent about an hour having conversations with the clients, and served them lunch. I had the opportunity to meet a grandmother named Alicia and learn about her life. As an 85-year-old immigrant, she remembered she came to California before there were freeways! Alicia had told me that as a young woman, she would work within the San Diego county and raise her children here while her husband worked in Mexico. Now that her children are grown up and have their own family, Alicia has relatives all over California and Mexico. I can tell by the way she would talk about her children and grandchildren that she is incredibly proud of all they have accomplished. Fortunately, she has family that lives just across the border in Tijuana- her son will drive her to visit on the weekends while Alicia brings gifts of clothes that she receives from her local church.
When Alicia was working in a factory, she broke her left leg in two places. Alicia and her family had struggled to pay for medical expenses and unfortunately had to give up a house she raised her children in. Despite this tragedy, I know that Alicia is doing the best with what she has and is grateful for the support she receives from the Wellness Center. Every day, she comes for free meals and likes to participate in the events that are hosted. I can tell by the way Alicia carries herself that she has found a sense of community and belonging that is outside her family.
I appreciate talking to Alicia and her willingness to share her story, and I resonate with her struggles on a deeper level. I understand the challenges she must have faced when raising children in the United States while a spouse provides for the family in Mexico because my family/relatives had practiced this as well. Moreover, I can feel the affect her injury has had on her life by looking in her eyes and realizing that this story is similar to thousands of others. Talking to Alicia made me realize that the costs of severe medical expenses can be more than the fortune many have spent their lives trying to accumulate. Often cases, saving for the ‘rainy day’ does not work so well when a person is living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet. I cannot help but wonder what else could have been done when her injury occurred that may have prevented their family from losing their home.
When Alicia was working in a factory, she broke her left leg in two places. Alicia and her family had struggled to pay for medical expenses and unfortunately had to give up a house she raised her children in. Despite this tragedy, I know that Alicia is doing the best with what she has and is grateful for the support she receives from the Wellness Center. Every day, she comes for free meals and likes to participate in the events that are hosted. I can tell by the way Alicia carries herself that she has found a sense of community and belonging that is outside her family.
I appreciate talking to Alicia and her willingness to share her story, and I resonate with her struggles on a deeper level. I understand the challenges she must have faced when raising children in the United States while a spouse provides for the family in Mexico because my family/relatives had practiced this as well. Moreover, I can feel the affect her injury has had on her life by looking in her eyes and realizing that this story is similar to thousands of others. Talking to Alicia made me realize that the costs of severe medical expenses can be more than the fortune many have spent their lives trying to accumulate. Often cases, saving for the ‘rainy day’ does not work so well when a person is living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet. I cannot help but wonder what else could have been done when her injury occurred that may have prevented their family from losing their home.