Ailing Salvadoran girl finds friends in Sacramento

Marielos Margarita Martinez is a fighter.

When she was born in El Salvador, doctors said her life expectancy was less than two years because she came into the world with a concave chest and other ailments.

But 10 years later, the little girl remains alive – with a determination to live much longer.

Like other girls her age, Marielos is relatively active – even though she must slow down while playing or walking.

This fall, it is hoped, Marielos will visit Sacramento to undergo advanced life-enhancing surgery that doctors in her tiny nation cannot perform. A fundraiser to help the Martinez family with travel costs and other expenses will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 24 at El Pollo De Oro, 1514 West El Camino Ave. at the Discovery Plaza Mall in South Natomas.

"Our goal is to raise $1,500 to help the Martinez family," the Rev. David Bothwell, organizer of the event, said last week.

"I believe God has a purpose for Marielos," Bothwell added, explaining why, in his view, Marielos has far exceeded her life expectancy.

Bothwell is the pastor for Iglesia Jehova Shalom, or Jehova Shalom Church, a nondenominational congregation that ministers to the Latino community in Del Paso Heights. His congregation learned about Marielos' plight early this year, through a newscast on a Spanish-language TV network, Bothwell said.

By then, Marielos' story was taking on a local angle: She and her family were about to arrive in Sacramento, so Marielos could be tested to determine if she was a candidate for surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Bothwell said.

In November 2007, Dr. Angelo Capozzi, chief of plastic surgery for the Sacramento hospital, had written a letter "to whom it may concern," saying that Marielos' doctors in San Salvador believed the girl "needs another procedure that is not done" in that nation.

The Salvadoran doctors reported that despite previous surgery, Marielos had suffered a relapse of the concave chest deformity, the letter said. The relapse created unnatural pressure on her internal organs.

"I am willing to have Marielos brought to the United States to be evaluated … to determine if she is a candidate for additional surgery," Capozzi, who could not be reached for comment, wrote. "The Shriners hospital provides free medical care and surgery for children."

After watching the TV broadcast, two Jehova Shalom parishioners decided they wanted to help.

The congregation raised $500 to help the Martinezes during their stay with a local family.

In the end, the tests revealed Marielos wasn't strong enough to undergo surgery early this year, Bothwell said, adding that the family returned to El Salvador after a month.

"Marielos is very thin," said Bothwell, who met the girl and her parents. "But the Shriners doctors gave her some exercises to do back home.

"Those exercises will increase her strength and overall health," he said.

Marielos and her parents plan to return to Sacramento this fall, in hopes that Marielos can undergo the much-needed surgery. Their return will mean additional expenses for renewal of the family's temporary visas, along with other costs such as airfare and meals in Sacramento.

On May 24, the Jehova Shalom congregation will sell Mexican tamales and foods from El Salvador and Colombia at El Pollo Oro.

"Even though we don't know this little girl, we decided to make our restaurant available to help out," said Luz "Lucy" Maria Hernandez, El Pollo Oro's co-owner.

Helping her is simply the right thing to do, she said. On May 24, Hernandez and husband, Federico, will serve Latin-style barbecued chicken as usual, along with other Pollo Oro favorites.

Parishioners will use El Pollo Oro's kitchen to cook the fund-raising foods before serving them.

The church welcomes donations for its Marielos fund. Checks, with a notation "For Marielos," may be sent to the Rev. David Bothwell, 2793 River Plaza Drive, No. 179, Sacramento, CA, 95833. For more details about the fundraiser, phone (916) 524-5740.

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