Family, friends organize fund-raisers for woman

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Shannon Garcia Santa Cruz found out she had leukemia when she was pregnant with her son Julian, now 15 months old.

Shannon Garcia Santa Cruz had only been a married a year and was expecting her first child. Her husband, Phillip, had just landed the job he really wanted and the couple was looking forward to moving into a new home.
   But during a prenatal checkup in her last month of pregnancy, shocking news came. Doctors discovered she had leukemia.
   Santa Cruz could've crumbled. Instead, the 21-year-old's maternal instincts kicked in, empowering her with a courage and strength that saw her through 10 rounds of chemotherapy, several relapses along the way, separation from her newborn baby during her hospitalization at Houston's M.D. Anderson and eventually a lifesaving bone marrow transplant in July.

For more information For information about upcoming fund-raisers for Shannon Garcia Santa Cruz, call Betty Thompson at 993-3613.

   "I was so happy when I learned I was pregnant," Santa Cruz said. "I finally felt so complete with my family and in one moment my entire world came crashing down. But I never let myself feel like a victim. It was an opportunity to prove myself a fighter and ultimately a survivor."
   A little more than a year later, Santa Cruz remains in Houston, where she is undergoing costly follow-up treatments that will keep her there for another six months. Meanwhile, family and friends, who eagerly await her return to Corpus Christi, are busy organizing a variety of fund-raisers to help Santa Cruz with medical-related expenses.
   From the very beginning of her ordeal, Santa Cruz said, this show of support "has been an overwhelming gift of hope and friendship. There is no way I could've gotten through this by myself."
   It began shortly after doctors discovered her disease and made the decision to induce delivery.
   Friends, family visit
   Nearly 350 family members and friends descended on the hospital to welcome Santa Cruz's baby, Julian, into the world and be there when, two hours after having given birth, the new mother was whisked away by ambulance to Houston, said Santa Cruz's father, Gilbert Garcia.
   Since then Santa Cruz's husband, her in-laws and her family all have shared the task of taking care of Julian, who turns 15 months old Oct. 1. However, a determined Santa Cruz has done as much mothering as she has been physically able to.
   'My biggest hero'
   "Even though it makes her more tired, she takes care of her baby as much as she can," Garcia said. "It hurts me to see my daughter tired all the time, but by the same token I'm extremely proud of her. She is my biggest hero. She is being the mom she always wanted to be."
   And just when you think a family that is close to begin with can't get any more united, something happens to show you otherwise, said Eunice Cantu, Santa Cruz's aunt.
   "Family is our tower of strength that we take for granted sometimes," Cantu said. "You fool yourself into thinking everyone in the family will always be there, but then you go through something like this and realize that's not true. And it brings you closer."
   'I'm thankful'
   As for Santa Cruz, "there's a lot less focus on material possessions now and more on the spiritual aspect of our lives," she said.
   "I'm thankful every day that I've got a complete family and a perfect son.
   "And although my husband and I were best friends before we married, now do I fully realize what a gift it is to have a husband who is my best friend."