Santo Domingo. For years, the voice by Cristy Tapia He has accompanied thousands of people through the radio.
A warm and firm voice, trained to sell ideas, tell stories, produce content and maintain radio spaces with professionalism.
But today, at 31 years old, that same voice trembles. Not out of fear, but out of the urgency to stay alive. For her. For his daughter. For the life he still wants to tell.
Cristy is a mother, commercial host, radio producer, wife. And for almost a year, it is also oncology patient. Next February 10 marks one year since he received a diagnosis that changed his life: osteosarcomaa type of aggressive cancer that usually attacks the long bonesbut in his case it lodged in the pelvis, an area that makes any surgical intervention even more complex.
Since then, his life has become ua succession of waiting rooms, invasive treatments and difficult medical decisions. A wait that hurts. Not only in the body, but also in the soul.
“I have been through many adversities, but by His grace I am still standing.”“says Cristy, clinging to a faith that she has not let go of even ins darkest moments. Faith explains that it has not freed her from pain, but it has sustained it when the body no longer responds as before.
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When chemotherapy is no longer an option
Cristy began her treatment with chemotherapy. A hard and exhausting process that little by little left its consequences. His body began to reject her. Emergency visits became frequent. Tiredness, extreme.
Despite the care, food and medical support, the reality was overwhelming: the chemotherapy was no longer working in his body.
The most recent studies confirmed what no one wanted to hear. The tumor is still large. Too big. And, for now, it is not operable.
“That gives me hope, because it is not that it will never be possible to operate, it is that it cannot be done now,” he explains.
But before reaching that moment, There is an essential step. A key intervention that can make the difference between moving forward or going backwards.
Embolization is your only option
The doctors were clear. To stop the growth of the tumor and avoid major complications, it is necessary to perform a procedure called embolizationa technique that consists of cutting off the blood supply that feeds the tumor, reducing its size and stabilizing its progression.
Cristy already had the studies done. It is suitable. The medical team is ready. The procedure can be performed in the Center for Diagnostics and Advanced Medicine and Medical Conferences and Telemedicine (Cedimat), where he has received specialized follow-up. But there is an obstacle that stops everything today: money.
The cost of embolization amounts to RD$827,333. Cristy does not have a medical insurance that covers this procedure at that center and his family, hit by months of medical expenses, simply does not have the resources.
“I have never seen that amount of money together in my 31 years,” he confesses. “But I do want the opportunity to live.”
Tracy, the girl who is not afraid
In the middle of this process there is a constant light. A reason that pushes Cristy to get up even when the pain weighs the most. your daughter Tracyjust 10 years old.
“Sometimes I wonder who gave life to whom,” he said.says Cristy, with a broken voice. Tracy has been her support emotional, its silent strength, its daily miracle. A girl who sees her mother sick, who understands more than what she says and who, yet, is not afraid.
“She trusts. And that trust saves you,” he says.
Cristy knows that it is not easy for a girl to go through this process, but she also recognizes that Tracy has become her greatest hope. The reason you want to stay here. Present. Viva.
Reality and a call to humanity
Cristy does not evade reality. Faith sustains her, but it does not pay for treatments. And in a system where many people are left out of medical coverage, the disease not only hurts: it impoverishes.
“It breaks my heart to see cases of embezzlement of funds in medical insurances, while people like me and others in even worse conditions have no hope of receiving decent treatment,” he says.
Today your heart is full of anguish, but also gratitude. He has seen solidarity in nurses, in the church and in strangers who have approached him. That’s why he decides to speak. Tell everything. Show your face Ask for help without shame.
“If you have 10, 25 or 100 pesos, they will make a difference to me,” he says honestly. It does not promise miracles. Promise transparency. He promises to keep fighting.
His voice that doesn’t want to go out
Cristy doesn’t ask for charity. Ask for a chance. The possibility of undergoing a procedure that can save your life and allow you, later, to get the surgery you need.
Ask for time. Time to love your husband. Time to watch grow Tracy. Time to continue using his voice, on and off the radio.
“Today for me, tomorrow for you,” he repeats, aware that the disease can knock on any door.
Meanwhile, the wait continues. Hurts. But there is still hope. And still, as she herself says, there is something to save in humanity.
How to help Cristy Tapia?
Cristy needs to gather RD$827,333 to undergo embolization, an essential procedure to stop the growth of the tumor and be able to progress towards future surgery.
Any contribution, no matter how small, can make a difference.
Help enabled accounts:
Banreservas
Account: 9605273772
ID: 223-0159360-8
BHD Bank
Account: 30820620011
Today for her. Tomorrow for any of us.
