It began as a cold that Julia Amparo-Alvarado couldn't seem to shake.
One January night in 2003 when her boss called, asking her to come in for a night shift of janitorial work at the Brooklyn Con Ed building, Julia protested, complaining of a fever. But with an eight-year-old son and four-month-old daughter at home, she knew she couldn't give up the work. The family needed every dollar.
She slipped on layers of sweaters, a jacket, and a pair of shoes that did no justice to the snowstorm going on as she walked to the subway station. When she finished her shift, she felt chills and was sweating. Her knee—a constant problem since she'd come to the United States from Guatemala five years earlier—was throbbing. Her whole body ached.
Over the next two weeks, her brother made trips to the pharmacy to pick up Tylenol. Neighbors came by her drafty two-bedroom apartment to bring her soup. When Julia couldn't get out of bed, the kids were looked after by a sister and sister-in-law.
Under no circumstances, however, could she see a doctor. Doctors ask questions. They request documents. They might even call the police. One phone call could mean incarceration, deportation, and separation from her kids. Julia knew she was sick, but a doctor was out of the question.
In 1998, she had trekked across Mexico to get to the U.S. for more money, better education, and less violence. Her home, the southern end of Guatemala, was racked by mayhem left over from a civil war.
"There was a better future here," Julia says in Spanish. Her eldest sister, Carmen, draws a finger across her throat: "[The violence] was everywhere," she says.
And Julia's firstborn was sick. At a month old, Wilmar developed meningitis, which, if treated there, was costly. Coming to America meant better health care.
But now that she needed medical care herself, she was terrified about getting it.
When the cold turned into something worse—constant vomiting and shortness of breath—Julia's brother insisted she see a doctor. Her husband was certain a hospital would not deport Julia because she was so ill. "They had to help her," her husband, Lisandro Escobar, says.
Julia admitted herself to Woodhull Medical Center a few weeks later. "I walked to the hospital alone," she says. "There was no one who could come with me—everyone was busy working." At Woodhull, few staffers knew Spanish. Julia's English was limited to "I don't know."
To the staff who did speak her language, Julia divulged her illegal status. "I was not afraid to tell them I didn't have papers," she says. "A lot of people in the hospital were illegal. I knew they weren't going to deport me because I was sick."
Julia was at Woodhull for a month, suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. She was eventually transferred to Bellevue Hospital to see a cardiologist, but it was a bewildering experience. "Everyone was speaking in English," she says with a shrug.
She was at Bellevue for two months before she met Danielle Ofri, a physician and professor at NYU's medical center. One day, Ofri brought around a new team of residents to Julia's room.
Ofri says she looked at Julia's chart and felt overwhelmed.
"I felt . . . entirely defeated," Ofri says today, remembering that day when she first met the Guatemalan woman, who, at 36, was near her own age. "The whole premise of medicine is that you can always work harder to help your patients, but here was a situation that I could not do anything about."
When Ofri looked at the chart, she could see that Julia's battered and enlarged heart was not pumping enough blood. Her diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy was a death sentence, but only because of her legal status.
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Julia is an anecdote and a distraction being used by liberals to support an untendable position. What is the position? It keeps changing depending on which one you ask.
There are 1.6 billion Julias in CHina and 1.7 billion more in India. Do you people that side with the invaders suggest that it would be alright for, say, 500 million to run across the Mexican border from India and China? If not then you are clearly Hispanophiliacs. One invader is the same as another to the truely color blind.
The most important part of this article is the reason why the invaders come, it is because they are "looking for a better life and more money." This is a recurrent theme in these propoganda pices that use tradegy in an effort to get you to abandon your common sense and territorial instincts, along with the human sob story like Julia's.
Looking for more money and a better life is not equal to wanting to become an American, or the desire to throw off the old world and become a member of the new world. Looking for greater economic opportunity is an age old reason for invading another country. Hitler called it Leibenstraum.
The Persians invaded Greece looking for new economic opportunities, the Europeans colonized half the world for the same reason, and lets not forget the impoverished Mongols who were forces across their borders to search for a better life elsewhere. The only difference between the Julia's of the world and these past agressors is that their people lack the military power to grab our lands and wealth, so they settle for demographic invasion and conquest.
Tsun Zu wrote about the strategy of demographic conquest more that 2000 years ago. It heavily relies upon greedy people looking for cheap labor and fools with altruistic intentions, and later traitors are useful to aid in the tactic. Already we see Mexican movements in the US demanding Reconquista. That means Tsun Zu's strategy is pretty far along its course.
In America progressive liberals, communists, and anti-white racists have all banded together and they love anything that they perceive injures caucasians as a group. That of course is insane and suicidal but never the less it is their current viewpoint.
I prefer the caucasians out of all the people who now squat on our ancestral land. At least they gave the natives motor cars, HVAC, telephones, and saved us from the diabolical nazis in germany. What will the Julia's of the world give us but more sob stories, more debt, and an ever spiraling decrease in our nations stature.
God bless you Julia.
I do feel very, very sad for Julia. There are literally millions of extremely sad stories just like hers all over the world. If you read her history, she began her quest for a better life with the understanding that she would find a good job and healthcare in the US. This was the first and most critical misconception. Her relatives mistakenly convinced her to come here because they received better pay and health care. If they had been truthful and told her that coming to the US meant no healthcare and no jobs unless you immigrate legally, then I suspect she and others may never have made the dangerous trip in the first place.
Right now I condemn this Pitch author for preying on the compassions of us all to promote a scam on those unsuspecting Latinos who's money and sometimes very lives are stolen by their own countrymen as they search for a better way of life.
Our immigration system here in the US is not sustainable as is. The laws must be clearly and fairly defined and enforced. Doing so is the only way to prevent other from making the same, well intended but misguided decisions as Julia.
Julia is an anecdote and a distraction being used by liberals to support an untendable position. What is the position? It keeps changing depending on which one you ask. There are 1.6 billion Julias in CHina and 1.7 billion more in India. Do you people that side with the invaders suggest that it would be alright for, say, 500 million to run across the Mexican border from India and China? If not then you are clearly Hispanophiliacs. One invader is the same as another to the truely color blind. The most important part of this article is the reason why the invaders come, it is because they are "looking for a better life and more money." This is a recurrent theme in these propoganda pices that use tradegy in an effort to get you to abandon your common sense and territorial instincts, along with the human sob story like Julia's. Looking for more money and a better life is not equal to wanting to become an American, or the desire to throw off the old world and become a member of the new world. Looking for greater economic opportunity is an age old reason for invading another country. Hitler called it Leibenstraum. The Persians invaded Greece looking for new economic opportunities, the Europeans colonized half the world for the same reason, and lets not forget the impoverished Mongols who were forces across their borders to search for a better life elsewhere. The only difference between the Julia's of the world and these past agressors is that their people lack the military power to grab our lands and wealth, so they settle for demographic invasion and conquest. Tsun Zu wrote about the strategy of demographic conquest more that 2000 years ago. It heavily relies upon greedy people looking for cheap labor and fools with altruistic intentions, and later traitors are useful to aid in the tactic. Already we see Mexican movements in the US demanding Reconquista. That means Tsun Zu's strategy is pretty far along its course. In America progressive liberals, communists, and anti-white racists have all banded together and they love anything that they perceive injures caucasians as a group. That of course is insane and suicidal but never the less it is their current viewpoint. I prefer the caucasians out of all the people who now squat on our ancestral land. At least they gave the natives motor cars, HVAC, telephones, and saved us from the diabolical nazis in germany. What will the Julia's of the world give us but more sob stories, more debt, and an ever spiraling decrease in our nations stature. God bless you Julia.
I do feel very, very sad for Julia. There are literally millions of extremely sad stories just like hers all over the world. If you read her history, she began her quest for a better life with the understanding that she would find a good job and healthcare in the US. This was the first and most critical misconception. Her relatives mistakenly convinced her to come here because they received better pay and health care. If they had been truthful and told her that coming to the US meant no healthcare and no jobs unless you immigrate legally, then I suspect she and others may never have made the dangerous trip in the first place. Right now I condemn this Pitch author for preying on the compassions of us all to promote a scam on those unsuspecting Latinos who's money and sometimes very lives are stolen by their own countrymen as they search for a better way of life. Our immigration system here in the US is not sustainable as is. The laws must be clearly and fairly defined and enforced. Doing so is the only way to prevent other from making the same, well intended but misguided decisions as Julia.
This is a compeling story but I am a 71yo male in Kansas Cityy a community actvist and heave workd for my city tireless for many years. I have social security, medicare and drug coverage I had a heart attack Dec of 08 and ill owe copays to the hospital and doctors which I cannot afford to pay. We have the Kansas city free health clinic who does not have a cardalogist Most nights I have chest pains and a asprin helps but I know my time is limited because I cannot afford co pays to see a doctor. While the story makes a good pointabout imigrants what does it say about us that have paid taxes helped in the community stayed out of jail and had the misfortune of growing old? I know my life is cut is near over but I ask should our dollars go to someone like myself whio has made the commuinty and country better or some one who came across the border in the midle of the night? Obamacare will not helpeople like me. I am senteced to a premature death because I am poor.
If there is a doctor out there that will forgo the copay you have a citizens begging for you help. If there is a drug company that will forgo the co pay i need your help
To the illegals in this country I feel for you. I know what a death sentences is like but I have earned the right to help you have not
This is a compeling story but I am a 71yo male in Kansas Cityy a community actvist and heave workd for my city tireless for many years. I have social security, medicare and drug coverage I had a heart attack Dec of 08 and ill owe copays to the hospital and doctors which I cannot afford to pay. We have the Kansas city free health clinic who does not have a cardalogist Most nights I have chest pains and a asprin helps but I know my time is limited because I cannot afford co pays to see a doctor. While the story makes a good pointabout imigrants what does it say about us that have paid taxes helped in the community stayed out of jail and had the misfortune of growing old? I know my life is cut is near over but I ask should our dollars go to someone like myself whio has made the commuinty and country better or some one who came across the border in the midle of the night? Obamacare will not helpeople like me. I am senteced to a premature death because I am poor. If there is a doctor out there that will forgo the copay you have a citizens begging for you help. If there is a drug company that will forgo the co pay i need your help To the illegals in this country I feel for you. I know what a death sentences is like but I have earned the right to help you have not
re: The implied: Ms. Amparo-Alvarado has such a sad story. Therefore she should get to stay in this country and we should pay for her healthcare instead of our own and we should give up our jobs to her and people like her while we die in poverty because the only work we can get is "volunteer work" (read: slave labor)and therefore, are being run out of our homes and denied the healthcare that we are FORCED to give to the Ms. Amparo-Alvarado's through our taxes that pay for the hospitals.
Where do you people come up with this warped logic that leads you to believe that some people should be above the law and that you should decide who they are?
Where do you come up with the warped logic that says that Americans are the only people who shouldn't get the American Dream and that you should get to take this country away from your countrymen? And If you hate us so much and think us so undeserving and you think that other people in other places are better; Just go live there and let us be!!!!!
re: “Latinos lived in America before many territories became states. … Yet there is now a ferfor to drive immigrants out…”
1) Latino is not synonymous with immigrant, or if it is, then clearly our immigration problem is a Latino problem.
2) Yes, Latinos did live in what is currently the USA before many territories became states, but NOT THE IMMIGRANT LATINOS WHO CAME HERE WITHIN THE LAST 20 YEARS AFTER ImmAct90 DESTROYED OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM BY OVERWHELMING IT! Those who came here or were born here legally to legal residents from that period in history, their descendants probably still live here.
I come from European ancestors and I live here. That doesn't mean that all Europeans should get to immigrate here.
re: The implied: Ms. Amparo-Alvarado has such a sad story. Therefore she should get to stay in this country and we should pay for her healthcare instead of our own and we should give up our jobs to her and people like her while we die in poverty because the only work we can get is "volunteer work" (read: slave labor)and therefore, are being run out of our homes and denied the healthcare that we are FORCED to give to the Ms. Amparo-Alvarado's through our taxes that pay for the hospitals. Where do you people come up with this warped logic that leads you to believe that some people should be above the law and that you should decide who they are? Where do you come up with the warped logic that says that Americans are the only people who shouldn't get the American Dream and that you should get to take this country away from your countrymen? And If you hate us so much and think us so undeserving and you think that other people in other places are better; Just go live there and let us be!!!!!
re: “Latinos lived in America before many territories became states. … Yet there is now a ferfor to drive immigrants out…†1) Latino is not synonymous with immigrant, or if it is, then clearly our immigration problem is a Latino problem. 2) Yes, Latinos did live in what is currently the USA before many territories became states, but NOT THE IMMIGRANT LATINOS WHO CAME HERE WITHIN THE LAST 20 YEARS AFTER ImmAct90 DESTROYED OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM BY OVERWHELMING IT! Those who came here or were born here legally to legal residents from that period in history, their descendants probably still live here. I come from European ancestors and I live here. That doesn't mean that all Europeans should get to immigrate here.
I have listened, studied and argued the points of Illegal Immigration for some time now. Yes.....there are countless millions around the world that need help. I donate money monthly to the church and to several organizations that help those in need. What irritates me is that the leaders of other countries know and allow the people of their country to suffer. The inhumanity is not of those that are pushing for and have legislated stricter laws concerning illegal immigration. The inhumanity lies in the hands of those who allow their own to suffer. Here is my question. Why is it that the President and Presidents past find it necessary to speak up against the leaders of those countries they feel violate basic human rights, but leaders of South America tend to have a free pass? When President Calderon came to the White House, he was given a warm reception by President Obama and his Administration, but yet he has not been very friendly with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is constantly being threatened by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
I have listened, studied and argued the points of Illegal Immigration for some time now. Yes.....there are countless millions around the world that need help. I donate money monthly to the church and to several organizations that help those in need. What irritates me is that the leaders of other countries know and allow the people of their country to suffer. The inhumanity is not of those that are pushing for and have legislated stricter laws concerning illegal immigration. The inhumanity lies in the hands of those who allow their own to suffer. Here is my question. Why is it that the President and Presidents past find it necessary to speak up against the leaders of those countries they feel violate basic human rights, but leaders of South America tend to have a free pass? When President Calderon came to the White House, he was given a warm reception by President Obama and his Administration, but yet he has not been very friendly with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is constantly being threatened by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
What's the problem? Illegal means ship them home. Need a heart? Get it at home. It's a sad story but one that shouldn't even be told since the illegal alien should have been shipped home LONG ago.
What's the problem? Illegal means ship them home. Need a heart? Get it at home. It's a sad story but one that shouldn't even be told since the illegal alien should have been shipped home LONG ago.
This is a tragic situation, to be sure. My sympathies go out to both her and her family. Unfortunately though, while our Statue of Liberty asks the world to give us their tired, their poor and huddled masses, we also ask them to do so by rule of law, which our country is governed by. Illegal immigration goes against that law which is the fabric of our country, and breaking that law has very real consequences, such as for Julia. I voted for Obama and am liberal on a number of topics, but this is an issue I do not stand behind the left in this country with. We need to cut off all funding, all benefits and all assistance to individuals who enter our nation by breaking our laws. If you want into our country, you must first play by our country's rules.
This is a hell of a sad story. This lady will soon die. I, and all normal human beings, empathise, feel sorrow.
What strikes me, is the unspoken premise. The background noise so familiar with these stories and their always unfortunate outcomes. Guilt. Its my fault. It is my American fault. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have granted most Americans a veritable cornucopia of material wealth in comparison to many folks in other countries.
We don't choose where we are born, but our American Judeo Christian ethics and morals have left us vulnerable to these stories. Maybe thats good, mom would like it, maybe its bad, its why we keep thinking we can save the world from itself. We cannot.
In the last decade, we Americans have seen our financial institutions and their leaders rake our very hearts for our 401ks, our equity in our houses, our last red cent for tribute to captains of indusrtry with greed, avarice and malfeasance to guide them through our checkbooks like Grant thru Richmond.
That same decade has seen us weakened on the world stage and shaken badly by a phoney WMD-Gulf of Tonkin war that drained our treasury, our hope and our sacred honor. Our politicians it seems are as bankrupt in thier hearts, as are our business leaders.
I've heard timing is everthing Mrs. Alverado, and, yours is bad, sorry. Our coffers are empty and this is important, not just for immigrants, but Americans and the world.
7 Years ago, this story has a happy ending. Not now. She will die.
My hope on this 4th of July, is that we again become a beacon for those the world over who would dream to dream what we and our fathers have dreamed. In between now and then, America has to get healthy. It'll be a decade at best. No war, better cash flow and a change of American heart back to ethical and moral righteosness that we took for granted for so many decades.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Not for a while, not for a long while.
This is a tragic situation, to be sure. My sympathies go out to both her and her family. Unfortunately though, while our Statue of Liberty asks the world to give us their tired, their poor and huddled masses, we also ask them to do so by rule of law, which our country is governed by. Illegal immigration goes against that law which is the fabric of our country, and breaking that law has very real consequences, such as for Julia. I voted for Obama and am liberal on a number of topics, but this is an issue I do not stand behind the left in this country with. We need to cut off all funding, all benefits and all assistance to individuals who enter our nation by breaking our laws. If you want into our country, you must first play by our country's rules.
Gary, you convienently forgot add the word ILLEGAL to your rant as you libbies most always do. And teresa it's alot more than 10% in this area. And when my American citizen son & I have to sit in the emergency room at TMC for 3 hours to see a doctor and I observe people getting called in who came after us who don't speak a word of english it's time for them to frikin' leave. And tell that "we were all immigrants once" krap to someone who cares.
This is a hell of a sad story. This lady will soon die. I, and all normal human beings, empathise, feel sorrow. What strikes me, is the unspoken premise. The background noise so familiar with these stories and their always unfortunate outcomes. Guilt. Its my fault. It is my American fault. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have granted most Americans a veritable cornucopia of material wealth in comparison to many folks in other countries. We don't choose where we are born, but our American Judeo Christian ethics and morals have left us vulnerable to these stories. Maybe thats good, mom would like it, maybe its bad, its why we keep thinking we can save the world from itself. We cannot. In the last decade, we Americans have seen our financial institutions and their leaders rake our very hearts for our 401ks, our equity in our houses, our last red cent for tribute to captains of indusrtry with greed, avarice and malfeasance to guide them through our checkbooks like Grant thru Richmond. That same decade has seen us weakened on the world stage and shaken badly by a phoney WMD-Gulf of Tonkin war that drained our treasury, our hope and our sacred honor. Our politicians it seems are as bankrupt in thier hearts, as are our business leaders. I've heard timing is everthing Mrs. Alverado, and, yours is bad, sorry. Our coffers are empty and this is important, not just for immigrants, but Americans and the world. 7 Years ago, this story has a happy ending. Not now. She will die. My hope on this 4th of July, is that we again become a beacon for those the world over who would dream to dream what we and our fathers have dreamed. In between now and then, America has to get healthy. It'll be a decade at best. No war, better cash flow and a change of American heart back to ethical and moral righteosness that we took for granted for so many decades. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Not for a while, not for a long while.
I think some of you need to go downtown and prove to ur self that 10% of welfare/food stamps aplicants are hispanics where is the other 90, and if you drive on the NE area you see all these working people going to work every morning while others wait to broke in theirs houses . whos doing wrong? by the way im a organ donor dont care religion or status, god bless america and humanity
Gary, you convienently forgot add the word ILLEGAL to your rant as you libbies most always do. And teresa it's alot more than 10% in this area. And when my American citizen son & I have to sit in the emergency room at TMC for 3 hours to see a doctor and I observe people getting called in who came after us who don't speak a word of english it's time for them to frikin' leave. And tell that "we were all immigrants once" krap to someone who cares.
I think some of you need to go downtown and prove to ur self that 10% of welfare/food stamps aplicants are hispanics where is the other 90, and if you drive on the NE area you see all these working people going to work every morning while others wait to broke in theirs houses . whos doing wrong? by the way im a organ donor dont care religion or status, god bless america and humanity
It is so sad to see the amount of ignorance that is still within our country. We are a nation founded by immagrant's and now we look at them as a plague and in some cases not even human. How do you turn your back on a person who is trying to do somthing good wehther it be in this country or there own.People want to talk about the drain on our economy or the waste of our tax dollar's to help these people but we are fine to sit back and give oil companies and drug companies huge tax break's just so they can turn around and charge us more for there product's.We should believe a human life is worth more than a product. To all those who want to blame Obama for all the finacial hardship's that are plaguing our country it's time that you opened your eye's and looked at the fact that Bush started this mess and Obama has to be the one to deal with it. He is doing the best he can with what he inherited so we need to stand behind him and give him the time to fix these issue's we gave bush 8 year's and that's what got our country to where it is today.You can;t change everything overnight it takes time and support. I hope that Rhonda does get help otherwise she is just another statistic of money having more value than life.
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