Roseville Community Garden Helping In Cancer Fight
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – When Ed and Christina Rodriguez married 32 years ago, they thought this was their happily ever after. But, in 2012, their fairy tale took a turn.
"For me my first thought I'm losing my wife," Ed said.
Christina was rushed to the emergency room for a near diabetic coma. Testing showed the prognosis was worse than they thought.
Doctors told her what she feared: aggressive stage four bladder cancer.
"Thinking I'm always going to be here tomorrow. Well, this just says I may not be," Christina said.
"Once we found out she had cancer I just fell apart," Ed said.
And how could Ed bear the thought of telling his children.
"That was probably the most difficult thing I had to do was tell them their mom had cancer," Ed said.
"My life changed from that point on. I knew my life was never going to be what it was," Christina said.
Christina is undergoing chemotherapy and says she maintains a good attitude, exercises regularly and maintains a good diet – mainly from her backyard, the Grove Street Garden and Orchard.
"Everything I eat comes from here and it's all organic no pesticides," Christina said.
Ed says he has noticed a difference in his wife's health, and wants to share the fruits of his labor with his cancer family.
"If I do this with her and help her why not help other cancer patients," Ed said.
"It started as just for us and it's grown and grown and grown and it's become a haven for cancer patients," Christina said.
Christina says her life now focuses on family, loving life's little moments, and refusing to give up the fight.
"Life doesn't stop when you have cancer it's what you do with it taking a negative and making it a positive," Christina said.