'I want to have a normal life'

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**From the Chicago area




'I want to have a normal life'


January 30, 2007



AURORA -- Christina Rodriguez doesn't like to look at her left leg, nor does she like to wear shorts so other people can see it.

The tumor is visible. So is the scar, which starts at the top of her hip and runs all the way down to her ankle. Doctors can't remove the tumor because this wild growth of blood vessels is tightly wrapped around her tendons. Eventually, they told her, she will lose her leg.

But in February, the 30-year-old single mom of two young daughters will travel to Colorado to undergo a new but risky procedure that doctors hope will shrink the tumor when a solution containing ethanol alcohol is shot into it.

The procedure can be dangerous to the heart, but the Aurora woman is willing to take her chances in order to save her leg and prevent the pain she now experiences.

"I want to have a normal life," she says.

Christina Rodriguez's life has been anything but.

At age 7, she was diagnosed with a heart murmur, enlarged heart and missing heart valve. Then, seven years later -- at age 14 -- doctors removed the first tumor; and nine years after that, she was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to vascular malformations and is often debilitating.

As it turns out, the surgery to remove the tumor when she was a teen only made her problems worse. With this kind of growth, cutting it enabled more roots to take hold -- which is why the tumor grew back bigger than ever, she said.

There is hope for her condition, however. While the procedure itself -- it is referred to as "transcatheter alcohol embolization" -- is covered by insurance, Rodriguez does not have the money to cover all the medical expenses, nor does she have the funds for traveling to and from the Vascular Malformation Center in Englewood, Colo.

For that reason, the family is sponsoring a fundraiser for Rodriguez from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 3 at San Pablo Church, 555 E. Benton St., in Aurora.

Lollie Rodriguez, Christina's mother, says her daughter has struggled with pain most of her life. In addition to the tumors, lupus affects Christina's joints and organs, which means daily tasks, like brushing your teeth, can "seem impossible on some days."

"My family has been there to help me so much," says Christina. "But I am hoping this will allow me to be more active with my kids. More than anything, that is what I want."

For more information about the fundraiser, call (630) 701-0092 or (630) 801-9594.
www.LupusMCTD.com