Poleina Diosa Fund
Donation protected
This is my beautiful brave friend Poleina Diosa. Many of you know her as Paulina Ramirez from Brookline High class of 83. Poleina has been diagnosed with a very aggressive brain cancer. She has had six weeks of radiation followed by six months of chemotherapy. Poleina has lost her job and her expenses have just begun. Please read her story and join me in raising funds to help her fight this cancer.
Poleina's story:
Yes, I was tired, I had only slept four hours on any given day that week. Yes, I was
stressed, I was trying to build a business abandoned by the manager before me. I thought
the munchkins and coffee would get me through the rest of the day. All I had to do is get
through the meeting that afternoon and then I could rest. But there was another plan for me.
Turning on to the Massachusetts Turnpike I was startled when my car hit the barrier separating the lanes going East and West. All I could see as I tried to take control of the car was a yellow glow across the horizon. My car came to a stop and I saw a stocky, muscular figure running towards my car. He reached the driver’s side and banged on my window.
“You were driving on the wrong side of the road!” he yelled, “You have to get out of the car! I’m trying to help you, but I have to get out of here before the police get here because I’m not supposed to drive. I’ll lose my license.”
In my right mind, I would never have opened the door for this man who robbed me of all my belongings and left me for dead. But I was nowhere near my right mind. I had no idea how far from my right mind I was. It would be 10 days before the doctors would lean in to make me understand, “this is a brain tumor.”
Disoriented and confused, my hand fumbled with the inside of the driver’s side door. It landed on the button that opens the window. “That’s it.” Said the man as the window rolled down. He reached in and pulled me from the safety of my car.
I have no concept of how much time passed before I heard someone ask, “So...how did you get to this side of the road?” It felt like the State Trooper crouched before me, but I couldn’t see anything anymore. “Oh My God!” he exclaimed, “We’ve got to get her an ambulance!” And then I lost all consciousness or memory until I woke up in the ICU. “What time is it?” I asked. “6:30”. The trooper found me just after noon with no wallet or phone. They had been stolen along with my computer while I sat semi-conscious. “I need a phone.” I said and dialed the only number I knew by heart. “Mom, I’m in the ICU...”
Can you imagine getting that phone call?
That was the beginning of the journey I am now on. One that includes a fear of seizures due to an aggressive brain cancer.
This is an incurable cancer that will lead me to die, at a much younger age, than did Kennedy and McCain.
If only I had their money.
The doctors give me two years to live after treatment, but there is hope that I can survive a little longer. If the quality of the life remaining is free of stress, full of the love and support of my family and community, and enhanced by a healthy lifestyle, I may live longer. But each day I worry that I will lose my home. The healthy lifestyle I need to sustain my body while shrinking my tumor is expensive. I have lost my health insurance and still have to pay the bills for decisions made for me while I was unconscious...the first day. That is a fraction of the costs of tests, treatments, and commutes I need to keep this tumor from growing. A one-month supply of just one of my seizure medications costs $900. My poor mother had to use her credit card to help me.
I am a talented artist who never got to use my talents, I am an award-winning writer who has yet to finish the books I started. I am a gifted dancer who spent my life savings teaching others to empower themselves through dance, yoga and holistic health. I planned for retirement by taking another corporate job, but it seems that the Universe has other plans for me.
I am not afraid to die, I am afraid of losing everything I have wasted my talents for. My brain is severely affected, so I can’t work as I used to, but I still have control of my limbs and faculties. A chance exists that the remaining time can be spent living my purpose and sharing my gifts. I just need help to get there. To thank you for your help, I will happily share the art I have done, or create something special for you.
“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent”
-Sonny Lospecchio (Chaz Palmienteri), A Bronx Tale
Poleina's story:
Yes, I was tired, I had only slept four hours on any given day that week. Yes, I was
stressed, I was trying to build a business abandoned by the manager before me. I thought
the munchkins and coffee would get me through the rest of the day. All I had to do is get
through the meeting that afternoon and then I could rest. But there was another plan for me.
Turning on to the Massachusetts Turnpike I was startled when my car hit the barrier separating the lanes going East and West. All I could see as I tried to take control of the car was a yellow glow across the horizon. My car came to a stop and I saw a stocky, muscular figure running towards my car. He reached the driver’s side and banged on my window.
“You were driving on the wrong side of the road!” he yelled, “You have to get out of the car! I’m trying to help you, but I have to get out of here before the police get here because I’m not supposed to drive. I’ll lose my license.”
In my right mind, I would never have opened the door for this man who robbed me of all my belongings and left me for dead. But I was nowhere near my right mind. I had no idea how far from my right mind I was. It would be 10 days before the doctors would lean in to make me understand, “this is a brain tumor.”
Disoriented and confused, my hand fumbled with the inside of the driver’s side door. It landed on the button that opens the window. “That’s it.” Said the man as the window rolled down. He reached in and pulled me from the safety of my car.
I have no concept of how much time passed before I heard someone ask, “So...how did you get to this side of the road?” It felt like the State Trooper crouched before me, but I couldn’t see anything anymore. “Oh My God!” he exclaimed, “We’ve got to get her an ambulance!” And then I lost all consciousness or memory until I woke up in the ICU. “What time is it?” I asked. “6:30”. The trooper found me just after noon with no wallet or phone. They had been stolen along with my computer while I sat semi-conscious. “I need a phone.” I said and dialed the only number I knew by heart. “Mom, I’m in the ICU...”
Can you imagine getting that phone call?
That was the beginning of the journey I am now on. One that includes a fear of seizures due to an aggressive brain cancer.
This is an incurable cancer that will lead me to die, at a much younger age, than did Kennedy and McCain.
If only I had their money.
The doctors give me two years to live after treatment, but there is hope that I can survive a little longer. If the quality of the life remaining is free of stress, full of the love and support of my family and community, and enhanced by a healthy lifestyle, I may live longer. But each day I worry that I will lose my home. The healthy lifestyle I need to sustain my body while shrinking my tumor is expensive. I have lost my health insurance and still have to pay the bills for decisions made for me while I was unconscious...the first day. That is a fraction of the costs of tests, treatments, and commutes I need to keep this tumor from growing. A one-month supply of just one of my seizure medications costs $900. My poor mother had to use her credit card to help me.
I am a talented artist who never got to use my talents, I am an award-winning writer who has yet to finish the books I started. I am a gifted dancer who spent my life savings teaching others to empower themselves through dance, yoga and holistic health. I planned for retirement by taking another corporate job, but it seems that the Universe has other plans for me.
I am not afraid to die, I am afraid of losing everything I have wasted my talents for. My brain is severely affected, so I can’t work as I used to, but I still have control of my limbs and faculties. A chance exists that the remaining time can be spent living my purpose and sharing my gifts. I just need help to get there. To thank you for your help, I will happily share the art I have done, or create something special for you.
“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent”
-Sonny Lospecchio (Chaz Palmienteri), A Bronx Tale
Organizer and beneficiary
Ellie Ward
Organizer
Dedham, MA
Paulina Ramirez-Williams
Beneficiary
