It’s our turn to help some NM ‘angels’
Longtime readers of this column know about Angels Among Us, an annual feature feting unsung do-gooders who make their communities better, not for accolade or award, but because it’s the right thing to do.
For each of the past eight Christmases, two angels have been selected from the nominees you readers provide.
But I learned recently that two angels have fallen on hard times — one in a motorcycle crash, the other by a frightening diagnosis.
A third woman, who has appeared twice in this column and could easily qualify for angel status, is
also facing a serious, life-threatening health issue.
These angels have done so much for their communities. Perhaps it’s time for their communities to do something for them.
You may find it’s the right thing to do.
Dog whisperer gets grim diagnosis: When it comes to rescuing dogs, nothing else matters to Lily Azures — not the hour of day or night, the time expended, the weather, the cost, the mileage (though she accepts gas money), the threat of losing her job, the chance her heart will break again if the search does not end well.
“There’s just something in my personality not to look the other way,” Azures told me in 2015, the year she was named an Angel Among Us.
Folks around Santa Fe, where she lives, think of her as a dog whisperer and, often, as a dog’s last hope.
But now something else matters — or should. Azures was recently diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer often treated by removing all or part of the diseased organ.
For that, Azures would have to take off from rescuing dogs and her job — as much as eight weeks.
Friends know time is of the essence and have started a GoFundMe account to raise money so she can focus on taking care of herself.
“I know all the dogs she’s rescued would help out if they could,” said Caroline Murphy, who initiated the fundraiser. “I’m just hoping the humans will also.”
Biker down: For all the years Marty Gagne has been riding motorcycles, he has never been in a crash — until Aug. 20.
It happened just four doors down from his Rio Rancho home when a car ran into him, leaving his left arm shattered and his left foot so badly mangled that the toes and heel were nearly severed.
“I almost made it home,” joked Gagne, one of last year’s Angels Among Us.
But it is no joke. His arm is held together by pins and plates. Last week, doctors told him his foot will probably have to be amputated.
He is unable to work remodeling bathrooms and kitchens — and, his family fears, he may never be able to return to that line of work.
As for motorcycles, all he can ride now is a wheelchair.
Such grim news is taken in stride by a man nicknamed Moose from the Onagers motorcycle club who is known for his good humor and great passion for helping others through the many charitable events he organizes.
“Like I told the surgeon, whatever needs to be done to get back on my bike and back into normalcy faster, let’s do it,” he said. “But what really hurts me is not being able to help all the kids and their families.”
Now the person who needs help is Gagne. Members of the motorcycle community have set up a fundraising account at YouCaring.
He’s grateful for that, but he’s mindful that others need help, too. The crash may have slowed him down, but he is still putting together the annual Duke City Toy Run, which he originated, as well as the numerous other coming drives for homeless people, fallen bikers, veterans and children — especially the children.
“I’ve already committed to a lot of events coming up, and I won’t walk away from any of those,” he said, no pun intended. “My foot may not be there, but my passion is.”
Homes for cats: The diagnosis was already bad for Thalia Papadakis, a school counselor and foster mom to special-needs cats, unable to work because she is battling several painful, debilitating medical conditions, including EhlersDanlos syndrome, which causes her joints to dislocate.
But a new diagnosis brings even more bad news: Her celiac artery — which supplies blood to her liver, stomach, spleen, esophagus and pancreas — is being compressed by her diaphragm, thus cutting off the blood supply and slowly destroying her organs.
Her only option, she said, is a risky surgery. Before then, though, she wants to find homes for two of her special-needs cats, their care too great a struggle for her to provide because of her own declining health.
“They’re my children, and I can’t leave them to be put down,” she said.
It’s a tall order, she knows. But just as the public has been generous in giving to her GoFundMe account, written about in an Aug. 2 column, Papadakis said she is hopeful that a generous cat lover or two will step up and give her kids a home.
UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 8233603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www. abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.