Call from Mexico pierces a holiday peace

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Alejandro Escalona, op-ed columnist for Chicago Sun-Times, entered July 6, 2010

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:09AM

Bad news still comes by phone. No email, text message or tweet can replace the human voice to communicate a devastating event.

Bad news also has a way to find you when you least expect it — like the last days before Christmas.

Last Friday morning was filled with errands to prepare for Christmas. I had driven my daughter to school and was listening to public radio.

The hilarious recording of humorist David Sedaris reflecting on his job as Crumpet the Elf at Macy’s was on. I was laughing so hard that I had to stop the car.

The rest of the day was a series of routine chores and visits by friends and neighbors.

Then the phone rang in the early evening. I knew immediately there was something wrong when I heard the sound of my mother’s voice calling from Mexico.

“Sol had a seizure. She has been taken to a hospital. She is unconscious. Pray for her,” said my mother sobbing about her only sister.

“Sol” is short for Soledad. My 58-year-old aunt had been battling cancer for nearly 10 years. Sol and I grew up together in Mexico City. She always called me “manito” (little bro).

I felt an acute pain as if something had ruptured inside. Journalists are used to covering bad things happening during the holidays — deadly fires, car wrecks, homicides. Those tragedies happen to other people. This time it was personal.

The second phone call came around 11 that evening. It was short and dreadful.

“Sol passed away,” said my mother. “I can’t talk now because I’m about to see her.”

Later I found out the details. Sol, her husband and my mother were driving from Mexico City to Queretaro to celebrate Christmas at Sol’s house.

Her husband was at the wheel and Sol was sitting in the passenger seat. My mother was sitting in the back.

Suddenly, Sol felt sick and her legs began shaking. She lost consciousness after a few minutes.

My mother kept yelling “stay with me, Sol” as she could still feel Sol’s pulse in her neck. Sol’s husband flagged an ambulance and she was taken to a nearby hospital. Sol was still alive when the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

My mother described the terrifying ride to the hospital. The ambulance made its way through heavy traffic blaring its horns while the paramedics frantically tried to keep Sol alive.

A beloved elementary school teacher, Sol retired soon after she found out she had breast cancer. She had two mastectomies, underwent countless radiations, lost her long black hair, and her face was swollen.

Her cancer went into remission for some time but then it spread to her lungs. Three months ago, the doctors told her the cancer had spread to her brain.

Throughout all those years of pain and suffering, Sol confronted cancer with grace, wit and courage. She was always positive in spite of terrible odds.

As we approach the new year, I hope my family and I can continue to learn from her resilience, good humor and compassion in the face of a devastating illness.

That’s the legacy of a brave and remarkable woman.