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Introducing her book
"I am my father's daughter"
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| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, December 29 2003 |
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| We're all guilty of it. We spend our time complaining about petty everyday problems -- too much work, lack of time, not enough money -- while taking for granted the simple things in life. That's why people like Denise Martinez are worthy of admiration. The young Colombian woman, who lives in Miami, has faced countless medical problems without losing her optimism in the face of adversity.
Denise has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. During her short life, she has faced a series of highs and lows with unbelievable courage. Several doctors had given her little hope, telling her she would never make it past adolescence. But at 25 years of age, Denise is a living miracle.
"I was a very happy child until I started to understand the realities of life," she said. She began to face those realities at the tender age of 7, when her father was tragically killed. Three years later, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an incurable disease that affects mostly children and leaves victims dependent on insulin for the rest of their lives.
Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Eighteen million Americans have diabetes, and the disease is twice as prevalent in the Hispanic population. But diabetes is only one of several medical ailments facing Denise. At age 13, she began to suffer from an inexplicable illness, in which her body would swell up from one moment to another and she experienced pain so excruciating that only morphine could relieve it.
The young girl spent years in and out of the hospital until Dr. Juan Sanchez, a Miami endocrinologist who was part of the medical team that treated her, told Denise's mother that if it were his daughter, he would take her home and find another alternative. "There was nothing that we could do for her," Dr. Sanchez said. "We simply didn't know what was causing her pain."
Denise credits Dr. Sanchez with having saved her life. And although she credits special vegetable juices made at home by her mother with cleansing her system, her medical problems did not end there. At age 20, Denise received more devastating news: She was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer that causes tumors in different parts of the body.
The first manifestation of cancer was a tumor in her colon, for which she underwent a prolonged and painful treatment. Since then, tumors have also appeared in her cervix and uterus. But instead of feeling sorry for herself and drifting off into a deep depression, Denise decided to face her cancer with hope and optimism. "Cancer," she said, "has taught me understanding, tolerance and humanity."
Understandably, she has her moments of weakness, when she wakes up hating diabetes and hating cancer, when she doesn't want to inject herself with insulin or spend $500 on prescription drugs. She wants to do what other people her age are doing: go shopping, go out to dinner or go to a nightclub with friends. But five minutes later, the dark thoughts are gone and Denise regains her optimism, her hope and her never-say-die attitude.
"If God has given me the strength to get out of bed, and my body allows it, then I will get dressed and go to work," she says. So she gets up on most days, and fulfills her duties in not one but two jobs. One is at a paper-distributing company, which pays for her car and insurance, and helps her mother with household expenses; the other is as a translator for deaf-mutes, which pays for her medications, since she has no government assistance.
Denise Martinez is not afraid of death, and she expects the same of her family and friends. She loves to have parties, and she always includes in her invitations what has become her favorite phrase: "If you don't go to my party, then you can't come to my funeral." In this holiday season, Denise should be an example of strength, courage and optimism to those of us who take for granted the little things in life. |
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