On July 3rd would have been my older brother's birthday. He would be 36 years old had he not had Leukemia. Although he passed at the very young age of 16, Rafa was full of life. I remember that while he was hospitalized our family was approached by an author by the name of Erma Bombeck. She was on a mission to write a book about children with cancer. Her efforts became a success. She wrote a book titled: I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to go to Boise. As a result of this, Rafa's drawing of Garfield was published in her book along with many other ill children that contributed with a short story or drawing. His drawing of the silly cat was attached to a machine with bubble thoughts above his head thinking, "I hate this machine". This picture still astonishes me to date. This only demonstrated that even though he was ill he had a sense of humor and only looked at the funny side of life. I own a copy of this book and treasure it with all my heart. They say time heals the pain...and although 20 years seems so long ago, to me it seems only yesterday when I was thirteen and my brother left us...the pain and sorrow is still there. Rafa is the bravest person I ever met. I was privileged to have had him as my brother.
Tu hermana que te extraña y te quiere mucho, Carmen
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