Cheryl Mendoza

You never know who you’ll meet in life.  Especially when you move to a new place and you have no ties to the area.  There will be the people that come across your path because of school, work or the neighborhood you live in.  Some are at the local coffee shop, kids activities  or even church.  Many you see that you don’t even know, except for the hello’s at community events.  And then there are some you meet at your community pub.  Cher was just one of those people.  

She came in one day, brash and funny, using the pub as an office to do paperwork on her tablet.  It was there I found out she was a hospice nurse and how much she cared about her patients.  Now don’t get me wrong, she is no timid soul.  She is willing to give a differing opinion if she thinks it is in the best interest of her patient…..even if it is TO her patient  I respected that about her.  I also loved the care she showed in our own pub community.  Giving her opinion on compression socks or listening to her advise Mary Ann to keep her feet up as she was sitting with her glass of wine.   She didn’t stop being a nurse when her hours were done.  It’s really who she is, even if that wasn’t the plan she had for herself.  

The navy was her plan, but in basic training during the routine medical testing, she was found to have cervical cancer.  What followed were procedures to eradicate the cancer, but in doing so, it also derailed her hopes of a naval career.  They say when one door closes another one opens, and that door opened with the help of a friend that suggested she become a CNA.  Before she could even say yes, this friend “enrolled her in CNA class,” Cher told me.  From there Cher said, “everything fell into place.”   She received scholarships and assistance that gave her the opportunity  for schooling and the ability to become a nurse.  Within this story there are some twists and turns, but the door was always open wide in the direction of healthcare.  Just recently, after taking a well deserved cruise vacation, that door swung open again. 

So it started with a conversation.  “Where are you from?” Cher asked a man who was working on the ship.  When he answered, it was with a bit of tension.  “Bolivia,” he told her.  Then he followed up with a further comment “I know, that’s bad.”  Bolivia bad?  She wasn’t sure why he would say that, since all countries have their own good and bad.  That statement though, would not let her go, and with the help of google she went to find out what was so “bad” about Bolivia.  Of course there were crime statistics and drug violence, but that is in so many countries.  It was then that the nurse in her zeroed in on  the information about public health and it’s lack for the citizens of this South American country..  The limited amount of doctors and medical staff for the population, and what really caught her attention was the high rate of cervical cancer.  That hit home for her.  The more she researched, the more she wanted to help.   But how? 

The timing was wrong and this wasn’t her plan.  She of course had one, but it seemed to be getting changed again.  Her plan was simple, in six years she would be able to go and work anywhere in the world bringing public healthcare to people who needed it.  The only problem was now she didn’t want to wait!  The people of Bolivia were already calling to her and she could not dismiss the open door.  So she started researching organizations where she could go and offer her services.  Unfortunately, many were looking for commitments of  at least 6-12 months, and at this time that was not in the cards for her.  It was then that she found  International Medical Relief, an organization based in Colorado that has both a local and international reach.  It was with IMR that she could do a short term relief trip specifically to Bolivia.  She will be traveling to Bolivia and will team up with other doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to bring diagnosis, services and public health information to the people they are serving.  

She had the opportunity, but now came the hoops to jump through.  The whole process was “out of my comfort zone,” she said.  Applying for the trip, providing all the needed documentation, and “putting herself out there,” was not something she felt comfortable doing, but she did it anyway!  The cost was another factor that she knew would be a hurdle to overcome, but as everything else fell into place, she is trusting that support will too!  

And that is where you come in.  There are some local opportunities here in the Newton area to not only get involved, but to show how our community can support our neighbors in doing good!  On Friday June 26th at Moxie’s Community Pub, there will be a hot dog dinner costing $5 for any and all to enjoy, along with some fun out on the Moxie patio with corn hole, pickleball and a raffle.  You can also come out and meet Cher and hear all the details of the medical mission.  Make a donation and you can even sign her scrubs that she’ll be wearing on the first day of her trip!  All ages are welcome to the event and there will be chalk and bubbles for the kids.  All proceeds will go to the cost of the medical mission and airfare to Bolivia.  Now if you can’t make it out to Moxie’s, you can use the link below to get to Cher’s Facebook page which has the specific link to International Mission Relief’s donation page.

 As we talked about her desire to help, almost to herself she quietly said, “isn’t this what we’re supposed to do?”  I heard it though, and I agreed.  We are supposed to do what we can with what we have, and I love Cher’s story because she is the embodiment of that statement. 

It was such a simple comment made by a man Cher will never see again, but she knows it was so much more.  “He will never know how important he was in my life.”