South Dade farmworker and mother of six needs help in her battle against cancer
When she was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer in January 2020, Loyda Gonzalez’s first thoughts went to her children. There are six of them: two girls and four boys, ages 3 to 15. All six live in a two-bedroom duplex in Homestead with Loyda, an immigrant who moved from Mexico to South Florida 19 years ago.
“When I found out about my sickness I thought I was going to die. And then I asked myself, ‘Well, if I die, what will happen to my kids?’ ” she said. “They are still so young. Who am I going to leave them with?”
Gonzalez would go on to spend most of 2020 — “the worst year” of her life — at Jackson Memorial Hospital, undergoing daily rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Because she doesn’t have a car, Gonzalez must take the bus to downtown Miami for treatment, sometimes as early as 5 a.m. It’s a grueling slog of a trip: more than two hours each way. Once, she even fainted in her seat.
“It’s very difficult,” she said. “But thinking of my children is something that makes it impossible for me to give up. It’s my obligation to keep going. I have to fight for them.”
The summertime surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Florida dealt another blow to Gonzalez’s health: She tested positive for the novel coronavirus in August. Within days, all six of her children were infected as well. Symptoms varied across the different family members. Some just contracted fevers or lingering coughs. Gonzalez had painful body aches and lost her sense of smell.
The combined toll of COVID and cancer — as well as the debilitating side effects of Gonzalez’s intensive treatments — have made it impossible for the 35-year-old to perform her usual job duties picking produce in South Dade’s avocado groves. She doesn’t have the strength anymore.
‘HER BODY WAS PRETTY MUCH JUST GIVING UP’
Dianeli Mendez, center director at the Redlands Christian Migrant Association’s South Dade outpost, said it took time for Gonzalez to accept that she couldn’t carry on as normal.
“When you are working in the fields, or when you are working in nurseries or farms ... it’s difficult. You are constantly moving, carrying heavy objects back and forth, lifting, bending. It’s constant. It’s very physically demanding. And on top of that there are times where you are not even under shade, just straight out under the sun,” she said.
“At first, when [Gonzalez] was diagnosed, she kind of ignored it and tried to make herself an extra strong person and push through. But at the end of the day, her body was pretty much just giving up and it was a wake-up call to her so that she couldn’t continue to work, she couldn’t continue to bring income home.”
The migrant association decided to nominate Gonzalez for Wish Book because case workers recognized that the family’s need for help exceeded what the agency could do for her.
“We have been here to support her and we definitely wanted to see if there was anyone else in the community that could continue to do that for her as well.”
Locked out of unemployment assistance and stimulus checks, Gonzalez has had to rely on help from friends to put food on the table and make ends meet.
Fearing falling behind on her $900 rent and losing the family’s home, she is now turning to the community for assistance through Wish Book.
“I’ve always thought that material things weren’t that important. What really matters is family and being together,” she said. “But now the situation has gotten really difficult.”
In addition to help paying rent and utility bills, the Gonzalez family is also happy to receive clothing, since much of what they currently have will soon be outgrown. Cookware, a sofa, a full-size bed and a dresser for clothes would be welcome as well.
HOW TO HELP
Wish Book is trying to help hundreds of families in need this year. To donate, pay securely at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook. For information, call 305-376-2906 or email wishbook@miamiherald.com. Read more at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
