via GoFundMe campaign
After working as a housekeeper for a family on West 81st Street for 30 years, Maria “Chayo” Rodriguez returned to El Salvador to be closer to her family. Recently, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, prompting a friend from the Upper West Side to launch a fundraiser to cover $60,000 in medical expenses and bring Rodriguez back to NYC for treatment.
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The GoFundMe to support Rodriguez, who is battling Stage 3 cholangiocarcinoma, was launched by Cinda Garcia. The two first met when Garcia worked at a Citibank branch on Columbus Avenue and West 81st Street. “She was my client. I never wanted to break protocol. You’re not supposed to have friendships with your client…but something about her was very, very magnetic,” Garcia told the West Side Spirit. “She gifted me flowers for my birthday. We have birthdays very, very close to each other. She could be anybody’s grandmother.”
According to the GoFundMe page, Rodriguez, now 88, has spent her life caring for others. In her youth, she left El Salvador to work as a cook at a monastery in Guatemala. She later served a diplomatic family for 15 years, traveling with them from Rome to New York, before dedicating 30 years to caring for a family on the Upper West Side. Rodriguez retired three years ago but has recently fallen on hard times. After being diagnosed with pneumonia, imaging revealed a tumor in her abdomen, later identified as Stage 3 cholangiocarcinoma. Now, she needs help.
“Too often, our senior citizens on the Upper West Side are left to navigate challenges alone, hesitant to ask for help or ‘bother’ anyone,” said Garcia in an e-mail. “In good conscience, I could not let Maria become another story of quiet struggle—especially when she dedicated her life to serving and caring for others.”
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Garcia noted that her friend’s health had worsened in recent days, requiring a blood transfusion by doctors in El Salvador. She added that Rodriguez is in a very frail state. “She’s spent over 11 days in the hospital, which is taking a toll on her physically. I’m hopeful that if we can get her home as soon as possible, she’ll just feel more comfortable and recover from many antibiotics.”
You can visit the GoFundMe page to make a donation. As of publication, $2,800 has been raised.
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