Help Us Bring Mari Home to Heal

My sister Mari Rodriguez has cervical cancer and I need help bringing her home.

She lives in Seattle, WA with her Life Partner Michael Ragsdale. The two of them have been living together since 1992. Michael, my beloved brother-in-law, has never left her side and is Mari’s primary caregiver right now. He and I want to bring Mari back to the east coast where she has family (including me) and friends who can provide her and Michael with loving support.

Michael worked full-time but was laid off due to the pandemic. His unemployment benefits ended September 4th, 2021. He has been diligently seeking employment. He and I are concerned because once he is employed, Mari will be alone and not able to care for herself.

For those of you who do not know Mari please let me share who she is and why she is so loved:

She has dedicated her life to helping others heal. She is a survivor of life-threatening traumas which have caused her to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. Sadly this has rendered her unemployed for many years. Gratefully Michael has been able to care and provide for her allowing her to use her abilities and courage to help others.

She was a member of a panel on a segment of the Dr. Oz Show which focused on women and depression. She was willing to share on national television that she experienced depression because she believed that perhaps her story could help others.

Mari has profound empathy, compassion, and patience for people, including survivors of atrocities. For example, Mari and Michael volunteered for the Oral History Project of the International Raul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) in NYC. Mari interviewed elder Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivors who had been rescued by the altruistic Swedish diplomat Raul Wallenberg. Michael videotaped the interviews. The elders lived in NY and NJ.

Mari also meticulously organized a 9/11 Aftermath Paper Ephemera Collection that is now at the September 11th Memorial Museum. It contains 4000 pieces. Michael collected posters, fliers, cards, event programs, pamphlets, and publications in the aftermath of 9/11 for 14 months. The 4000 pieces were organized into categories, including one called “Offers of Help and Healing.”

Mari used to teach ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages). The students included adults who had fled war torn countries, who had been persecuted, who had been imprisoned and tortured for their humanitarian activism. Mari taught the students English but she also focused on helping them heal from their traumas. She was nominated Teacher of the Year.

Mari attended the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in NYC for two years and was ordained as an interfaith minister.

Ever since she was a little girl she has had deep faith. If someone said something was impossible, she would pray and believe it was possible. She wouldn’t give up. When our mother was in a coma and the doctor told us that she would not make it through the night, and if she did, she would be a vegetable, Mari acknowledged what the doctor said. In her mind Mari said, “Roger that.” But in her heart and soul Mari believed miracles were possible. So she encouraged family members and friends to pray, and to visit and talk to my mother in the ICU as if my mother was not in a coma. Our mother came out of the coma, and lived another 35 years. She was not a vegetable and died at the age of 96, full of spunk and sharp of mind.

One of Mari’s passions is genealogy. Throughout the years Mari has used genealogy to help individuals and families heal and reunite. For example, she was told about a man in his late 80s who did not know who his parents were. He had been left on the lobby floor of a Manhattan apartment building as an infant. A woman who lived in the building found him and that began his journey being raised via The New York Foundling. The New York Foundling is still in existence. It was started in 1869 when three nuns (Sisters of Charity) in Manhattan began caring for abandoned babies. The man thought it was impossible to find his maternal and paternal family. Mari’s mind once again said, “Roger that,” but her heart and soul believed miracles were possible. She researched and dug for over a year, connecting clue after clue. She prayed the man would remain in good health and not die without meeting his maternal and paternal family. Long story short, she was able to figure out his paternal and maternal lines. He was able to attend a family reunion for his maternal side and one for his paternal side. He was welcomed with open arms.

When the doctor told Mari she has cervical cancer, Mari’s mind said, “Roger that.” But in her heart and soul she believes miracles are possible. She is in physical pain and understandably emotionally and mentally exhausted from all of this. So she is leaning heavily on the inner and outer strength of others, and on the prayers of all who can pray for her. She is the person who you can always count on to pray for you and to lead the way in helping you achieve what may seem utterly impossible.

She is this petite, gentle, introverted person, but when she believes in something, especially when it has to do with someone’s healing, whether it is physical, spiritual, and/or emotional, she becomes a full blown Navy Seal. She is someone you want on your team. Now this prayer warrior, believer in the impossible, needs help. Please help me help her.

When I tell you she has cervical cancer, “Roger that” in your mind. But please, in your heart and soul also believe that Michael and I can bring Mari back home. And with our love, and the love and help of others like you, we hope to witness miracles for Mari.

She is my only sister. I don’t want to lose her. I don’t want her and Michael to go through this alone. I cannot help her financially but I can take care of her by being by her side and holding her hand just as she has done for me since childhood. I believe in miracles and I am praying.

 

Mari and Michael currently live in an apartment in a building for individuals 62 years old and up, who have low to moderate incomes. If you are able to donate, the funds will be used to help relocate her and Michael to the east coast, and to pay for any medical expenses her insurance does not cover.

And please don’t underestimate the power of your prayers and happy thoughts for Mari.

Also, if you feel comfortable doing so, please share the link to this GoFundMe page with anyone you think might be interested in donating and/or in praying for Mari.

Michael, Mari, and I thank you from our hearts. “Roger that!”

Forever her sister, her ride or die, her miracle seeker.

Yolanda Alvarez