"Thank You, Raymond"

Raymond Arrieta Today he begins his last walk “Da Vida” for the benefit of cancer patients and I am glad that this moment has come. First, because it’s time; Over the past 15 years, manual labor has increased. It is a commitment made voluntarily without giving up at any point and not knowing what to expect. He didn’t submit to physical or emotional pain, trying to taint his effort by suggesting that he was doing it for his own benefit. Who pays for it? The value is immeasurable.

Second, I celebrate all that I have achieved. It was definitely of immense help to the patients undergoing treatment Oncology Hospital At the medical center.

I visited it for the first time 15 years ago on a walk, and the transformation it has undergone over the years is remarkable, from the treatments being accessible to the new technological equipment arriving on the sidewalk.

None of this was told to me. To understand the value of this humanitarian feat, you have to walk. You should see the gratitude of patients, survivors, relatives of those who have battled the disease, and those who have lost that battle. People hug, kiss and bless him because he never ceases to ask for that boon and look to him with boundless hope that he will help them. It was a responsibility that came to affect his emotional health, for which he sought appropriate help.

I dare say this walk is the most intense work Raymond Arrieta has ever done, and he did so because of a close encounter with cancer. Last year her steps were dedicated to her own father, Don Ramon, who thankfully survived the disease today and will be close to her again. He also read it through the recently deceased director Pedro Alicia and his animation partner Dagmar, for whom he walked from Ponce to San Juan for the first time.

Today he returns to Ponce, bidding farewell to an irrevocable commitment. Although I have no doubt that each one had a special value, it was certainly a very emotional one.

I will go with him in the latter part of this year, because we all have reasons to support this initiative. I will walk in memory of my cousin Junie and my uncles Wilson and Eddie, my aunt Sarah, my friend/sister Viviana, my friend Evelyce and my son’s friend Seba for total healing (while working). Just have Raymond to thank!