Ok.....from the beginning. Thursday morning 7:10 am Sheila, Desirae and Margoth arrive at my house to pick me up. The 4 of us are on a road trip - a girls road trip to Sarapique - Margoth's home town.
Margoth is 41, the wife of Steve Chance and Steven's mother. When she was 3 years old she was riding in a wheel barrel being pushed by a brother. Things got out of hand and the wheel barrel was flipped throwing Margoth to the ground. Her leg was dramatically twisted. Because the family lived a long ways from a hospital they hoped she would get better on her on. When it was apparent she was not... she was taken to a hospital where a brace was put on. With the brace and time, the condition got much worse. Her leg was twisted and made walking very difficult. The hip became dramatically dislocated and as the years went by, bone was rubbing on bone. Long story short, Margot has been living with pain since the age 3.
Last year, with the help of a local friend - Anna Carina, from Houston, a doctor, a surgeon and a hospital donated a life changing surgery that took place last April in Houston. Since then she has endured a lot of physical therapy. The hip was replaced but now she needs a 2nd surgery to fix the knee. Without the operation, she will never be able to walk without the help of her chair.
Last year's surgery was donated. The 2nd surgery has to be paid for. The hospital has given a quote of $20,000 for the knee. Presently many efforts are being made to raise the money for this important and necessary operation. The 20K does not cover the additional expenses for travel, food, medications, therapy, etc. etc. And so, a number of fund raising efforts are now being made... the largest effort by Sheila Flanagan, who lives in Colorado but she and her husband Tom also own a house here in EO. Sheila made arrangements for a video to explain all this by way of an interview with Margoth that has now been sent out to hundreds of people by way of e-mail, FaceBook, etc.
Sarapique is a beautiful town located on the north/east side of Costa Rica. This is the place Margoth grew up and where all of her family still lives. Margoth's father passed away several years ago but her beautiful mother is still alive and well. Siblings that include 3 brothers and 5 sisters also live there. Margoth's youngest sister died of cancer when she was only 18, another brother was killed during a robbery a number of years ago. With spouses, cousins, nephews, nieces.....this is a huge family all living in this beautiful area named Sarapique.
The reason we made this trip was Margoth's family had arranged a dinner for the purpose of Margoth meeting with a committee that plans an annual event that makes a lot of money that is dispersed to people in need. The event is called a Cabalgata - which is a very cultural event in Costa Rica. Basically it is a horse ride thru the country. Hundreds of riders come to this event, there is food, there is music, often there is bull riding in the evenings. A lot of money is raised. The committee not only has the responsibility of planing and coordinating but determining who gets a share of the money.
The girls and I arrived at Margoth's oldest sister Anna's by 1 pm. Immediately we were fed :) Then we set out on a river adventure. I could go on and on about this afternoon but to make this short - photos tell the story much better. That night was the dinner with the committee and I had the opportunity to take family portraits for Margoth. The next morning we met with another woman who is in charge of determining who actually gets a share of the pie. We were told many people need help and there is much discussion before amounts and recipients are determined. The purpose for the trip was accomplished.
On the way back, Margoth's older brother Roger wanted to show us a beautiful waterfall. He had told us it was one of the most beautiful in all Costa Rica. We had no idea it was the famous La Pas Waterfall he was taking us to. The drive there was through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Way up in the mountains where the vistas make the world look so much bigger. It was all breathtaking.
We were home by 4 pm the day after we left. So much fun, so much accomplished, a trip that was so special on so many levels - so hard to explain.
Amazingly......this was my first ever girls road trip. I have done a number of trips with one friend here and there but never anything like this. In time....only 33 hours total - for me - unforgettable!!
Pura Vida
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