Benefit to help burned Pierson teen pay medical bills

GRAPHIC FROM WWW.ROQUELIA.COM
Benefit this Friday —Roquelia, is a local Latin-rock worship group. They will perform at a benefit for Ana Diaz at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at First Baptist Church of DeLand, 725 N. Woodland Blvd.

By Jennifer Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Sep 23, 2009 - 4:28:59pm

A local Latin-rock worship group will perform this Friday to raise money for an injured Pierson teenager.

Ana Diaz is only 18 years old, and she's seen suffering.

In 2004, Ana was shot in the back over a dispute.

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," her mother, Maria Diaz, said. "The man who shot her, he shot five kids that day, and there wasn't enough evidence to put him in jail."

According to Maria Diaz, it was a family-feud turned horror-story. One of Ana's male cousins was dating a girl, and the girl got pregnant. The girl's father and brothers didn't take it well.

Ana was at her sister-in-law's home, helping around the house.

"Somebody pulled up to the house," Maria Diaz said. "Somebody pulled out the guns. She [Ana] told her brothers to run into the house, and she ran after them. As she ran, he shot her and hit her in the back. She was paralyzed from the waist down."

On Jan. 9 of this year, Ana was burned. Her mother said the burns were life-threatening, and cover 30 percent of the girl's body.

Maria Diaz said Ana, her brother Thomas and her cousin were enjoying a bonfire in the yard this past winter. Thomas, who was 14 years old, got a cup of gasoline to throw on the fire.

"When he tried to put the gas on the fire; it got all over Ana, she was in her wheelchair," Maria Diaz said. "She was so brave."

Ana, while on fire, managed to get to a phone and call 911. Then she was able to throw herself out of the wheelchair and extinguish the flames.

"I don't know how she did that," Maria Diaz said.

Ana was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she remained in the intensive-care unit for two months.

Now, Ana faces depression and isolation, and works hard to keep her spirits up.

"Her face was burned pretty bad, and her legs were burned," Maria Diaz said. "She is still beautiful to me, but she says, 'Now I look ugly.'"

When they go out in public, people stare.

"She doesn't want people to feel sorry for her," Maria Diaz said. "People, they don't understand sometimes."

Maria Diaz said she and her husband, Thomas, have six children at home, and have both been out of work.

"I just got a job yesterday," Maria said. "It's in Sanford, but they're going to cut the lights off. I have to do what I have to."

With the family already struggling, Ana's medical needs are something they can't afford, but can't afford to not address.

Diaz said her daughter needs burn-care garments, which will protect her delicate skin while it's recovering, and can help maintain flexibility. "They are going to cost almost $1,000," Diaz said. "She needs the gloves and the things for her legs."

She added, "People just don't know how bad we're struggling."

But, the Diaz family keeps faith.

"There is a God out there, and He sees our struggling,"

In the meantime, Ana has decided to go back to school and try to earn her general equivalency diploma.

She dropped out of Taylor Middle-High School in Pierson after she was paralyzed. Her mom said the school couldn't meet Ana's medical needs.

Carlos Esquivel, a worship leader with Iglesia Bautista Betania in DeLand, had heard about Ana and went to visit her when she was in the hospital recovering from her burns in January.

He gave a little more insight to the family's life, and Ana's spirit.

"Ana lives in Pierson and lives in what we would probably consider poor conditions. Her grandmother helps her with the daily activities and is her primary care," he said. "I think some people crumble under such circumstances, but her resilience is the kind of courage that can inspire many people."

There will be a benefit hosted by both First Baptist Church of DeLand and Iglesia Bautista Betania, to raise money for Ana's burn garments and other medical expenses, at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at First Baptist Church of DeLand, 725 N. Woodland Blvd.

"We have a band that leads the worship for the Spanish church, and I thought we could do this concert to help her buy the arm and leg garments that the doctors prescribed but that her family can't afford," Esquivel said. "The event will be done in Spanish, and all are welcomed to attend, Spanish-speaking or not."

The band Esquivel refers to, Roquelia, is a local Latin-rock worship group.

The event is free and open to the public.

Esquivel said the band hopes to raise money through donations, and everyone who donates to Ana's fund will receive a Roquelia CD.

For more information about Roquelia, and about its efforts to help Ana, visit www.roquelia.com, www.roquelia.blogspot.com, or www.myspace.com/roquelia.

To check out videos by the band, visit Roquelia's YouTube channel, Roquelia386.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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