Suddenly her life and the lives of her families, both Mexican and Canadian, changed forever.

On Friday May 4, Liz Rago went for a long walk.  She said that she walked for ten hours around 'El Centro' [de Queretaro].  Probably to stretch her legs after a winter visitor, myself, had flown home early that morning.  Early that evening she retreated to her upstairs room, and at some undetermined time, [she] collapsed.  She was found hypothermic, some twenty-four to thirty-six hours later when she was neither seen nor or heard from.

The school in which she has been living for the last thirty-six years and which, up until several years ago had been running, is a quiet place after Saturday morning classes finish.  This is when people; students, teachers and members of the Garcia family (with whom Liz allied herself 36 years ago before the Garcia family was a family) disappear, 'for a change of scenery' until classes start again Monday morning.  This is when Liz suffered a debilitating stroke.

After a week in hospital, she was discharged home.  This has necessitated her family "to go into action."  An hospital bed was purchased.  Family members have mobilized and are both teaching and learning nursing skills.  

Over the years, Liz has touched the hearts of hundreds if not thousands of people; both as students and as teachers at 'Centro de Estudios de Ingles Kennedy.'  It is not uncommon for her to be stopped by previous students or their parents, to reminisce about the early days as students in the kindergarten.  She has a trail of students and teachers, literally spread around the world, whose lives she has touched in some manner.

Her life is unique.  Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1936, as a young girl she witnessed death and destruction in the midst of World War ll.  Her mother somehow managed to get her onto an embassy flight to London at the age of ten.  In London she spent her formative years living and schooling in a convent.  In her early twenties she followed her future husband, Peter, to Canada.  There, she raised her Canadian family, until the early eighties.  By then, her children were adults and her marriage had unfortunately dissolved.  After a Spanish Language sojourn to the Baja, she returned home declaring, "that she was moving to Mexico with her ESL (English as a Second Language) certificate to start a new life teaching english.  After her tiny rented room in her new home of Queretaro had been broken into, a concerned student of hers, Sergio, invited Liz to move into his flat with three other students.  This was her invitation to her interesting life in Mexico.  She witnessed the marriage of Sergio to his wife Cruz and the birth of their four daughters: Veronica, Cristina, Carolina and Sarita and one grand-daughter Sophia-Tabatha.  She is affectionately referred to as 'Abuela'/grandmother.

Now we are asking you, in her time of need, for help with some of the unforeseen expenses.  In addition to the hospital bed and hospital expenses, she will require 24 hour personal care.  The Lake/Garcia family members have bravely taken up this task but it can only be anticipated that they will need a break, and will be forced to hire some help.

If Liz has touched your life, in some way, or if you are otherwise touched by this story, please donate what you can, to help her and her families transition into this difficult time.

Please pass this onto your Facebook / internet friends.

We thank you.

PS: Due to the fee schedule of this service, we have set the minimum donation at $5.00