THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080297
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 108 lines
Marcos Gonzales came to America as an illegal alien, bound for the Eastern Shore to pick vegetables for maybe $34 a day.
Most of his earnings went back to his family - wife and sons ages 2 and 3 - in a Mexican village. Gonzales will return to them soon, but not as a provider. He is a quadriplegic in need of 24-hour care since being injured in an August car wreck near the farm fields where most American workers would not deign to labor.
Gonzales will leave the country voluntarily because there is no legal way for him to stay. In the government's eyes, he has become a burden on society and could be deported. The Catholic church, which has rallied to help Gonzales, finds that attitude deplorable.
The Rev. Roberto Gloisten, who conducts Mass in Spanish for local Hispanics, sees it this way: America turns a blind eye to migrant workers, willing to let them pick crops because it keeps food cheap, willing to let them live in sometimes miserable conditions as they travel the East Coast following the harvest. But when a migrant worker needs help, America is unwilling to share its vast resources.
``Everyone knows they're there, but if the immigration goes after them, the crops don't get picked,'' Gloisten said. ``Basically, they're harmless until something like this happens.''
``Something like this'' happened Aug. 1, when the car Gonzales was riding in wrecked. His brother-in-law, seated next to him, was killed. Gonzales was flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with a broken neck.
Jackie Willard, his case manager at the hospital, was shocked.
``His is the most devastating injury that I have seen in six years at this hospital,'' she said.
Gonzales is paralyzed from his chest down. He will never walk again, but he might, with enough therapy, be able to use a joystick-type control and feed himself. He receives oxygen through a tube in his throat. He can breathe on his own, but his lungs must be suctioned often to remove fluid. He is at risk of pneumonia, bedsores and blood clots.
Insured Americans in that situation would go from the hospital to some sort of rehabilitation facility. Gonzales will go to Mexico, said Jim Albright, coordinator of the Catholic church's migrant ministry.
``To me, he's a human being. And once you've met him, you don't want to say, `Well, that's tough luck, see you later.' I think the resources and the knowledge are around to make his life a lot better, but his access to it is a question.''
It was Willard who first called the Catholic church, seeking emotional support for her patient. The church, well-known for its social justice efforts, sent visitors and began wading through bureaucracy.
The government was initially unwilling to let Gonzales' family come into the country, reasoning that he would soon be sent to rejoin them. But Albright and Willard persisted, and the family will arrive next weekend on visas that will allow them to stay for several weeks, until they are trained in the 24-hour care Gonzales requires.
The Hispanic community, including health care workers at the hospital, also rallied around him, bringing him Mexican food and company. The community will house his family once they arrive.
After two months in the hospital, Gonzales has recovered to the point that he will soon be discharged. Albright at first tried to find ways to keep him in the country for long-term care or rehabilitation. Reality intervened.
``There's no entree into a long-term care facility when there's no promise of him having Medicaid or long-term insurance,'' Albright said. ``We had to change gears, and now we know we have time; he won't be sent back to Mexico immediately.''
Albright arranged transportation for the family.
Family members will train at the hospital until doctors are assured that they can provide proper care. Gonzales will then be moved to a house on the Eastern Shore where the family will practice home therapy. Within six months, they will leave for Mexico.
Willard estimates the cost of Gonzales' care at $800 to $1,000 a month, including oxygen, catheters, tracheostomy care, medicines and more. ``I've never sent anybody that was this high-level directly home,'' she said. ``Oxygen alone is going to be terribly, terribly expensive.''
Albright is now trying to find long-term help for the family. ``Christopher Reeve (the paralyzed actor) has $400,000 worth of 24-hour care and we're trying to do it on a shoestring budget of mother, father and wife,'' Albright said. ``What we're hoping at this point is to . . . gain resources so when we send him back, we're not just dumping him on Mexico's doorstep. We've lost sleep, we've racked our heads over where to go.''
Monday was Gonzales' birthday. He turned 24.
Migrant workers often are seen in Sentara Norfolk General's trauma unit during the summer, Willard said. But none has been injured as severely as Gonzales.
``I remember seeing his group of friends that came in to see him the next day,'' Willard said. ``It was hard for them to believe that this friend of theirs, that his life had been changed forever in that brief time. He continues to have people come from the Eastern Shore at least once a week. It's very, very expensive for them to incur that toll.''
The bridge-tunnel toll - $10 one way for a car - is minor compared to the cost of Gonzales' care. A hospital bed and wheelchair have been donated to the family, and Sentara Norfolk General has absorbed the entire $161,959 cost of his two-month stay.
When he leaves, he will return to a village about five hours by car from Mexico City. Albright has been busy, arranging visas, transportation, housing, child care and trying to find donations for the family.
``What we're trying to do is garner up as many items that will be helpful to them to give him some quality of life,'' Albright said.
``For us, it's a call to compassion. Right now, it's a brother in need, a family in need. It's not the paperwork that matters.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Marcos Gonzalez, paralyzed and facing deportation, speaks to his
mother in Mexico. The Rev. Roberto Gloisten is among those trying to
help.
KEYWORDS: MIGRANT WORKER ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCIDENT
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