July 18, 2018: Del Rio News-Herald * OPINION * Letter to the Editor * Fight for the right to live

Letter to the Editor,

Fight for the right to live

On your mother’s nightstand the colorful bouquet of flowers are still alive thanks to the nutrients in the flower food-packet and the life-giving fresh water that you poured in the vase. It’s been a week since her 93rd birthday. Your mother forgets things; she’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Your mother is alive. She wants us to know that she wants us to fight for her right to live.

The automobile accident took your uncle’s ability to walk, but not his drive to live. He pushed himself to do many things others could not dream of doing in his physical condition. He made his way across the stage to accept his college diploma; he danced at his daughter's wedding in a light-weight aluminum wheelchair, and at his retirement party his family gifted him the latest motorized version. Now he worries about being denied the needed surgery because of his disability, he might not be considered a worthy candidate. He has a beautiful retirement planned for him and his wife to enjoy traveling to all the national parks in America. He's alive, and he wants us to know that he wants us to fight for his right to live.

You were once floating comfortably in your mother’s womb. You heard your mother's every heartbeat, and you felt safe and secure. At 22 weeks old, your own heart was beating strong; and beating faster as you continued to grow. Your lips, eyelids, and eyebrows were becoming more distinct, and you were even developing tiny tooth buds beneath your gums. Your eyes were formed. Fine hair covered your body. Inside your belly, your pancreas, essential for the production of some important hormones, were developing steadily. You were alive, full of potential. You wanted us to know that you wanted us to fight for your right to live. 

These people, who want to live, who deserve to live, who will fight to live, want us to know that they want us to vigorously fight for their right to live.

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Del Rio, Texas