© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.

A Baby Who Saved Her Family From 'The Dark Moments'

Francisco Vasquez says his niece, Ellie, and his sister's battle with cancer have transformed his life "forever."
Courtesy of Maria Vasquez-Rojas
Francisco Vasquez says his niece, Ellie, and his sister's battle with cancer have transformed his life "forever."
Maria Vasquez-Rojas with her brother, Francisco Vasquez, at StoryCorps in Los Angeles.
/ StoryCorps
/
StoryCorps
Maria Vasquez-Rojas with her brother, Francisco Vasquez, at StoryCorps in Los Angeles.

Three years ago, Maria Vasquez-Rojas received news to celebrate: After many attempts to conceive, she was going to have a baby. But while pregnant with her daughter, Ellie, Maria was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.

"If I had not gone in for that ultrasound they would have never caught it. [Ellie] saved my life," Maria tells her brother, Francisco Vasquez, on a visit to StoryCorps in Los Angeles.

"Ellie's just been a miracle to our family," Francisco says. "Back then, I was not in a good place. I was addicted to meth, stealing. And then after you had Ellie and you were just going through your chemotherapy, I would come on my days off, and our parents would come, and having Ellie around — she was able to pull me out of the dark moments."

"I want to tell you, Frankie, that I am just so proud of you," Maria says. "You've grown up to be such a wonderful man and a wonderful human being. And I know you don't like to hear this, but if one day I'm not here, you have to be there for Ellie so that she feels her mom and what her mom represents."

"And I promise you that this change has been forever and it's made me who I really am," Francisco tells his sister. On Thursday, Francisco became Ellie's godfather.

Audio produced forMorning Edition by Nadia Reiman.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: December 12, 2013 at 10:00 PM MST
An earlier Web version of this story incorrectly stated that Francisco Vasquez became Ellie's godfather on Friday. In fact, the ceremony was moved up to Thursday.
Related Content
  • A ship called the Daniel J. Morrell was making its last haul of the season when it broke apart in a heavy storm on Lake Huron in November 1966. A few crew members struggled to stay afloat in the driving wind and waves, but ultimately, Dennis Hale was the shipwreck's sole survivor.
  • Rogelio Martinez was being abused when he started taking Lisa Moya King's dance class. Soon, Rogelio ran away, and Lisa took him in when he had nowhere to go. "You showed me that I'm not alone," Rogelio says. "That I actually have somebody."
  • When NPR's Renee Montagne thinks of her longtime producer Jim Wildman, she goes back a few years to their reporting adventures in Afghanistan. The two took five trips there from 2006 to 2011. Wildman will soon leave NPR, and in this National Day of Listening conversation, he says farewell to his friend and colleague.