Proud Immigrant and Mesothelioma Survivor Teaches Family About Attitude

Will L. spends a lot of time now worrying about his father's health. He often wonders how different things might be if his father had never left Ecuador 45 years ago to create a better life for his family. He also wonders how something so good turned out so bad. How did the American dream become an American nightmare? Malignant pleural mesothelioma changed his perspective on a lot of things. "If my father had stayed in Ecuador, raised a family there, this never would have happened to him, and that saddens me and my brothers," Will said from his home in New Jersey. "But he won't let us talk like that around him. There is no bitterness. He'd do it the same way all over again. He's proud that his children grew up in the United States." His father, Antonio L., who celebrated his 73rd birthday last month, becomes a six-year mesothelioma survivor in May, a milestone that makes him a rarity but also sounds an alarm. Not many pleural patients live this long. "My father always said 'this was the land of opportunity,' " Will said. "He taught us to never live with regret. Maybe that's why he has lasted. Doctors aren't sure why, exactly. But it's starting to show on him now. It is taking its toll. He knows what's out there, but he wants us to stay strong." Will and Antonio's last name is being withheld over privacy concerns. Antonio was 28, the 11th of 13 children in a poor, Ecuadorian family, when he saved enough money in 1969 for a one-way plane ticket to New York City, where he ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Stories from Survivors Source Type: news