Family Ties

I'd like to introduce my second cousin Eduardo Seda to you. Susan met him a couple of weeks ago when we took the opportunity for lunch in Denver.  Eduardo was one of those distant relatives that surfaced from time to time, fondly thought of, but not there in our day-to-day growing-up lives .  Although we are both present on the same family tree, the limbs are not close and neither was our relationship.  How could it be, I was raised in Fairfield, Maine and Eduardo grew up in Puerto Rico.  

We share the same great-grandparents.  His grandmother and my grandfather were siblings.  You've already met his grandmother, she was my Aunt Yvonne.   Now, Aunt Yvonne was an original.  In an era when women were not educated beyond the necessary, she valued education and learning and strove to excel, even walking miles to take classes at night.  She raised her three daughters exactly that way too.  They broke the mold of living typical, French Canadian, Central Maine lives (not saying there's anything wrong with that lifestyle).  Those three sisters were all strong, interesting and independent women, good women in their own way.  Eduardo's mother, Lois, went to college in Boston and there she met and fell in love with an interesting man (not sure if he was another student) who was Puerto Rican.   They moved to Puerto Rico and eventually had four children, Eduardo, Maria, Rosa, and Marta.   Occasionally, their paths and ours would cross, but we never got to know them as we did the rest of the clan who had stayed close to the home fires. 



Aunt Yvonne



Fast forward to present, after those in my generation had grown, married, and raised our families and those in our grandparents generation were gone.  Our family tree was bigger and more splintered but I had heard through the family grapevine that Eduardo was a medical doctor, a radiologist.  And, somehow, I knew that he lived in Denver (there IS a point to this whole story).

Back in October 2009 when we knew that there was something very wrong with Susan, we were dismayed that she could not seem to get her MRI scheduled.  Late one Friday evening when I could not sleep, I set out to find Eduardo, I wondered if he could help.  It didn't take long to locate him, there he was on another cousin's Facebook page.  I immediately sent him a long email message, told him what was going on and asked for help or advice.  Very early the next morning he replied and provided some phone numbers and contact information for Susan to call on Monday, as well as his cell number if we needed it.  Susan was able to get the MRI promptly done and in fact, Eduardo did the interpretation.  On her MRI report, he stated among other things (horrible things) that Susan had a distant family history of several types of cancers.  He was referring to his own grandmother and mother's cancers ( though he didn't come right out and name them).

During this whole saga, Eduardo has been my mentor, advisor, and cheerleader.  When it has looked desperate, he would say 'I don't want to give false hope, but"........and then he would encourage us with positive information.   When Susan was headed to Maine in September with a painful right hip full of tumor and an MRI of the hip done but not read, I emailed him again. We wondered if it was safe for her to travel, we were afraid of a hip fracture so far from home.  He replied in eight minutes.  Eight minutes.  He said, "I just looked at her MRI, be careful, use a wheelchair in the airports, take it easy, have a good time".  We went with caution but without the fear of the unknown. 

I knew Eduardo was my cousin and a radiologist.  I did NOT know what a wonderful, interesting, smart, and compassionate man he is. He has a quiet and gentle way about him, he is so gifted but more humble.  He understands me in a familial way, "the Mainer in you" as he says.  His way of saying I am blunt speaking (and not any different than his grandmother was). I still have not met his wife and two grown children and we look forward to, as Eduardo puts it, "family time" to get acquainted.   This is a joy we would not have except for this journey we have been set upon.

I am so grateful to Eduardo.  He has helped me over some of the puddles and bumps in this journey.  I am awestruck however because of that still, small, voice that whispered to me late that Friday night, "get out of bed right now and find Eduardo, he can help you".  Truly, how can we be afraid when we have the Wonderful Counselor who knows all,  loves best and watches over us 24/7.