Samuel Maldonado Jr.

Samuel Maldonado Jr. Was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer Everyone who knows my dad knows how much he loves his family and make a sure his family come first. My dad has always put the people he loves before him and now we are asking that many of you that know my dad do the same for him. Most of you know my parents did foster care for many years giving better lives to many children even if it was for a month or forever. They even saved a baby from choking and got a red cross award . My dad has done a lot of great things and did not flaunt about it. Our parents have conquered all obsticals that got in their way without asking for help. This one is different a lot diferent. My dad is a very strong and positive person but this is the time he will need our help. We could go on and on about our father but he would not want us to. What we are asking is for help ....our parents covered his first chemo session but don't know how to cover the rest. My brothers and I would greatly appreciate your help ...Family and Friends, we are requesting help. As my brother Kory posted on the link below my Dad has Cancer as well as had so many other medical issues in the past. Over a year ago my dad underwent a surgical procedure where they saw four cancerous masses in certain scans. Thing was, they didn’t forward the information nor tell him of the cancer back then… Recently, a year later, they decided to tell him… That issue is being dealt with. It’s been a hell of a year for my whole family, as I realize it may have been for others. Albeit, we have gone through so much and done so much, I can see it wearing down on my family in spirit and strength. There has been a lot that has happened that no one knows, as it was thought that we can beat it without saying. I now realize that its gotten to the point worth saying and requesting help. As in the description my brother talks about my dad and what he’s done and accomplished, and I cosign on everything he says. When my dad worked for the Railroad, I remember my mom getting up early in the morning to make his coffee and lunch and she would put it in his lunch box covered with stickers he gotten from sticker machines in stores and places he worked all over the state. I remember his orange hard hat it also had stickers and stuff on it. I remember my dad in the coveralls he used to wear all the time. I recall him leaving in the morning when it was still dark and when he got home us boys would look in his lunch box to see if there was anything left and finish it off for him lol. I remember a couple of times he would take us to work with him when he used to work as a Switchman and he would give us rides on the box car down the tracks. I got a kick out of those rides… His job took us all over the valley and state. I remember this place we used to live in someplace called “Range” Colorado, another place was La Veta Colorado. Now that was and still is a great small town. He loved and worked so very hard for the Rio Grande Railroad. Both my parents worked hard. Eventually we moved to Pueblo and my dad got hurt very bad and ended up on Disability. Because of this injury and the inability to work we didn’t have to move anymore and was able to stay in Pueblo. Dad went back to school at PCC, and got a degree in Machining Technology. He also ran a business “Happy Sam’s Trash Service” in which we, his boys worked for. This is where we learned how the hardest and dirties job in the world was all about, throwing people’s garbage… Still my dad found a way to work hard without ‘Working’ but using his mind and leadership. See my dad, since he got hurt and as I got older I knew that with him staying home and being on disability, it may have gotten to him. Because it was my mom who ended up getting up in the morning and going to work now. But see my pops never let it stop him. He loved working with his hands and I know he missed it. Working for the railroad back then it was all done by laborers with picks in hand and no machines to pull ties or rails… But I learned over time to respect this injury because of how much he has done. How much he was able to be there for us boys. Baseball games, Football games, Sports events, He even was able to become an umpire and would umpire my brother’s baseball games. even when I was part of a community center program in Bessemer to deter kids from drugs and trouble he was able to come see performances by the kids that I and others lead. My dad was able to do things that he may not have if he was still working with the railroad. Who would have thought my dad tried doing the standup comedian thing? Yup he did…I actually think my dad could pull off acting too! Oh, wait he did that too! He was an extra for a movie that they were filming in Pueblo. A jack of all trades my dad. An Entrepreneur, Comedian, Actor, Umpire, Machinist and Mechanic. But most of all a Husband, Dad, and now a Grandpo. My parents through the following years opened their doors as they did before to family but now to strangers in need. They became a beacon of light for kids placed in foster care. They loved these kids as if they were there own and provided the nourishment in all the ways they needed. They even adopted some sisters into the family. As my brother stated, my dad and mom got a lifesaving award by helping a choking child and saving his life… Dad, what a man! In his lifetime, he has seen a lot and been through a lot. He has battled his own demons and has become an angel to others. He is not perfect and I’m happy for that, I would not have it any other way. A balanced and humble man that can stand up in front of strangers and his family and say, “I’m Sam Maldonado Jr, I’ve done this, and that in my life. I was the who, and what, and now, I am.” I catch myself looking at him when he doesn’t notice, as I study him I’m memorizing his image at that moment in my mind. There are many of these moments lately.