There are times when truly real stories seem like fiction because of how shocking they are. Luz's is one of them. Thanks to the readers of La Vanguardia, she has been able to fulfill her promise to her son who died of cancer and has found a home for her two dogs, Black and Kaiser. In addition, she has been able to settle part of the debts for expensive medical treatment and get free legal help to try to avoid her eviction.
Luz Elisabeth Barrasa Arias was born in Chile. There she spent her childhood, she got married and had her children. Due to the economic circumstances of her home, she had to start working at the age of 8 to help her family, but she never complained about it.
Born to Catalan parents who emigrated to Chile to escape the civil war, Luz always felt a special affection for Catalonia and, at the age of 32, she decided to come live in Barcelona, with her parents and her son Félix.
In Barcelona, Luz soon found a job caring for the elderly and with that she was able to settle in with her son in a rental apartment. She was like this for 34 years, specifically until she was 66: she lived humbly, working tirelessly and always putting her son, the person she loved the most, as a priority. After the death of her parents, Félix became the only close relative she had left in Spain and her greatest support.
Félix spent many hours working as a transporter. Luz explains that he got up every day at three in the morning and that, although he always arrived very tired, he attributed it to work.
In his last years, he began to get sick more frequently despite being very young, but he did not want to give it importance. "Let's go to the doctor, I told him, but he always refused and told me not to worry, that with a whiskey and lemon it would go away," remembers Luz.
After several months of this, a day came when Félix couldn't take it anymore. One night he had a fever of almost 40, he coughed non-stop and felt a lot of pain, so, accompanied by his mother, they finally decided to go to a hospital.
There, after being admitted for 15 days, the doctors confirmed the worst omens: a very aggressive cancer had spread rapidly and Félix had developed metastases.
The news fell on their lives like a stone. The doctors diagnosed that the cancer was already very advanced and that it was most likely that none of the existing treatments could reverse the situation. Despite that, Félix and his mother never lost hope, and decided to try all kinds of cures to try to beat cancer.
Luz was forced to take out a loan of 4,000 euros to pay for these treatments, since Social Security only covered part of it. She knew that this would end up taking its toll on her in the future, since her pension was barely enough to pay the rent each month, but she was determined to do everything in her power to save her son. her.
It was an extremely hard process of more than two years in which Luz was always by Félix's side, taking care of him and giving him everything he needed. The cancer was advancing very quickly, the treatments were not working, and Félix became more and more wasted with each passing day.
Despite this, he was able to enjoy his last years of life in the best possible conditions, accompanied at all times; He was even able to fulfill the dream he had of fishing with his mother and his friends. However, unfortunately, the dreaded day came when his body said enough.
On his last day, when he was already bedridden without being able to move, Félix asked his mother for one last favor. She made him promise that he wouldn't abandon his, Kaiser and Black's little dogs, so that they would never be alone and, of course, Luz promised him that it would be that way. "I told him not to worry and I promised him that I would always take care of them, that they would never lack for anything." After that moment, Félix closed his eyes at 46 years old and never opened them again.
With the death of her son - and also her husband a few months later - Luz entered a true nightmare. She fell into depression and soon noticed the physical and emotional exhaustion that giving herself completely to Félix had caused her in her last years.
The pandemic also caused her body to deteriorate very quickly and Luz could barely walk without help. Furthermore, the debts incurred as a result of her son's treatment began to suffocate her and she soon received a letter announcing that they were going to evict her.
In her situation, Luz could barely buy food for herself, nor feed her son's dogs, even reaching the point of being forced to mix feed with rice so they could eat. "The first thing was them. I didn't eat, but I did everything possible so that they did. I had to take care of them," she explains. Furthermore, due to her physical condition, Luz did not feel strong enough to take them for a walk and the dogs showed a high level of anxiety as a result of this situation.
One day, while she was trying to take them outside even though she knew she was not qualified to do so, Black, the smaller of the two dogs, escaped, and was found by a member of the Vocalia de Gossos de Sant Martí, association that is dedicated to helping dogs in need.
This is how Luz found out about this association, which, after hearing her story, decided that they would do everything possible to help her. For this reason, one of its members, the canine trainer Albena Atseva, who regularly writes about animals in the La Vanguardia Readers Network, published an article in the newspaper in which she desperately asked for help for Luz and, fortunately, her cry was heard. effect.
After Luz's story went viral on the social networks of La Vanguardia, readers turned to her, even calling the editorial office to ask how they could help this woman who only asked for someone to take care of her. his little dogs in order to be able to give them the dignified life that they deserved and that he had promised his son he would give them.
In just over two days, Luz managed to raise 1,580 euros, with which she has been able to settle part of the debt she incurred as a result of her son's cancer treatment. Furthermore, after learning her story, a lawyer offered to help her for free to try to stop her eviction.
However, the most important thing is that, thanks to the dissemination, a shelter learned of her story and promised Luz that they would do everything in their power to give her dogs the life they deserved.
Therefore, last Sunday, they went to look for Black and Kaiser at home and, after administering all the vaccines and doing the necessary check-ups, they are now in a foster home waiting to be permanently adopted by a family. "I'm going to miss them a lot because they are like my children and I didn't want to have to get rid of them, but I know that they were not well here and that my son would be proud to know that now they are finally going to be happy," Luz explains between tears.
And his intention and priority when asking for help was always for his dogs to have the dignified life they deserved. He never wanted money despite his debts; He just wanted to save his dogs, and he finally achieved it: "I am very grateful to the people who have helped me, I thank them infinitely from the bottom of my heart. I only asked for my dogs and not for money, but people have "He has dedicated himself to me and has helped me with all his heart. I will always be grateful to them."
Now, Luz still has to pay part of what she owes in addition to dealing with the issue of eviction, but she is happy again knowing that her dogs will finally be able to be well cared for and that, above all, she has managed to keep the promise she made to her. he made his son before he died.
