Zeresan handia ematen ari da Alicia gaztea AEBetan. Minbizi arraro bat antzeman ziotenetik, bere gaixotasunaren gaineko kronikak idazten ari da San Francisco Chronicle egunkarian, non lehendik ere lanean ari baitzen, bekadun gisa. Alicia Rose Parlettek 23 urte ditu, eta orain hiru hilabete medikuak aurkitu zion sarkoma albeolarra, minbizi arraro bat, eta zaila tratazekoa. Aliciak ez zekien asko gaixotasun zehatz horren gainean, baina bazekien zer den minbizia, orain hiru urte ama hil zitzaion-eta minbiziak jota.
Sarkoma hedatu egin zitzaion mokorretik bularretara eta biriketara. Alicia idazten hasi zen, posta elektronikoa erabilita, eta bere sentipenak partekatzen bere ingurukoekin. Mezu horietako bat iritsi omen zen Robert Rosenthal, The Chronicle egunkariko editore baten eskuetara, eta horrek, hunkituta, eskatu zion Aliciari idatziko ote zuen egunkarian bere gaixotasunaren gainean.
Aliciak pozez zoratzen onartu zuen eskaintza, txiki-txikitatik idatzi nahi izan baitzuen egunkari horretan hain justu. Jende asko ari omen da irakurtzen Aliciaren kronikak. Berari, bestalde, behin betiko lan kontratua eskaini diote egunkarian.
NPR irrati publikoak ere (bide batez, oso ona da irrati publikoa AEBetan) erreportaje bat eskaini dio. Nik hor izan dut historia horren berri. Eutsi goiari, Alicia!
The San Francisco Chronicle egunkariak aukera ematen du txoko honetan irakurleok ere parte har dezagun Aliciaren historian. Hori aprobetxaturik, mezu bat utzi diot Aliciari:
I write to you from the Basque Country, Alicia, homeland of lots of people that in worse times left the old country and went to California for a better life, many of them to San Francisco.
Almost three years ago, on September 11th 2002, when I was about to be 50 years old, I was diagnosed a lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymph system, part of the body’s immune system. Very soon, I started writing in Basque about my illness in a blog called Sustatu: chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, etc. Today all those articles are part of a book published last February, that has the same title as the first article: The Doctor Told Me I Have Cancer.
To write those articles helped me a lot, as I hope will do to you now. After two years, last September I went back to work to Mondragon University, and, so far, I am doing very well.
I got to know about you just by chance at NPR radio, when I was looking for something to listen to, while navigating on the web. I was touched listening to your story. Take heart, Alicia, you are a young and brave woman, and I am sure everything will go OK with you.
Congratulations for your new job, you are a good writer. Tell Mr. Rosenthal to send you to the Basque Country, so you can trace down the roots of those Basque people who went to San Francisco, and brought along with them the sour bread. You will make lots of friends here.
All the best for you, Alicia.
Joxe Aranzabal