Felipe Garza
by Catherine from Chisinau
This is the story of an angel child who sacrificed his life for a girl with a weak heart who he liked very much.
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| (http://www.paperblog.fr/7217487/michael-jackson-et ()) |
This is a story about a young and very brave and large-hearted boy Felipe Garza. He became a real hero for his community after he gave his girl friend his heart to save her life.
Felipe and Donna lived in Patterson, California. They both attended Patterson High School. They spent time together and had fun at a hamburger joint "the Tiger's Den". Felipe was called "Pino" by his family, because he was very thin and looked like a cucumber ("pepino" in Spanish).
Donna Ashlock who was 14 was very ill. She had a very weak heart and needed an urgent transplant. Felipe who was 15 greatly liked Donna . He told his mother that he was ready to give his heart to Donna. His mother thought it was a joke because he was in good condition.
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| Donna Ashlock after the operation |
Unfortunately, Felipe was not so healthy. He had awful headaches from time to time but his parents didn't even know about that. One day Felipe suddenly woke up because he couldn't breathe properly and he had a severe pain in his head . The Garzas family immediately took him to the hospital. Unluckily, the doctors couldn't save Felipe. It was too late. The Garzas were too heavy-hearted, but they remembered Felipe's last request. He wanted to save Donna's life.
On January 5 in 1986 the doctors made an effort to put Felipe's heart in Donna's chest. It was a five-hour operation.
Everybody was happy because the operation was successful and Donna could breathe normally again.
During the Felipe Garza 's funeral service Father Tom Cargo noted, "There's a strange irony...Felipe's heart continues to beat in Donna. If the youngster with the sparkle in his eye could not make two hearts beat as one, he would make one heart beat for two"
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| Felipe Garza Park, Patterson (http://trip-suggest.com/united-states/california/f ()) |
"In 1986, shortly after Felipe's death, the Patterson City Council renamed by resolution Walnut Acres Park to Felipe A. Garza Jr. Memorial Park." The named the park in the boy's honor.
He is a real hero for me and an angel who was sent by God to save a child's life. Nowadays, children are more selfish, they are always waiting for something. We should remember that in our life if we want to have something beautiful we have to be very generous and to do things from the bottom of our heart.
Page created on 12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM
The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.
Bibliography
The Times News. "Boy told his parents he would die, give his heart to his ill girlfriend." [Online] Available https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19860107&id=n6ojAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LyQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6752,1. .
Nathan Duckworth . "National Night Out reinforces communication, revitalization efforts." [Online] Available http://www.goldenstatenewspapers.com/patterson_irrigator/news/local_news/national-night-out-reinforc. .
Plummer, William. "Felipe Garza Could Not Win Donna Ashlock''s Love but He Gave Her His Heart." [Online] Available http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20092818,00.html.
