Local Raising $$$ to Bring Beloved Housekeeper From El Salvador to NYC for Cancer Treatment

An UWS woman has started a $60,000 GoFundMe drive to try and bring a beloved UWS housekeeper–who retired to El Salvador to be with relatives–back to NYC, so that she can obtain better specialized treatment for a rare form of cancer.

Mario “Chayo” Rodriguez, 89, is currently battling Stage 3 cholangiocarcinoma. The money will reportedly help MedEvac her to New York City.

Cindy Garcia, the organizer of the fundraiser, befriended Rodriguez while she spent 30 years working for a family on W. 81st St. She said that Rodriguez retired three years ago, before falling ill after moving closer to family in El Salvador. “Too often, our senior citizens on the Upper West Side are left to navigate challenges alone, hesitant to ask for help or ‘bother’ anyone. In good conscience, I could not let Maria become another story of quiet struggle—especially when she dedicated her life to serving and caring for others,” she wrote in an initial email to The Spirit.

Rodriguez’s cancer was only discovered in her abdomen after she came down with pneumonia, according to the GoFundMe page. “While the doctors in El Salvador are doing their best, their options are limited by available resources,” the note stated. “Her family has been left to manage critical aspects of treatment, such as palliative support, independently.”

The fundraiser notes that Rodriguez, who is more commonly known by her nickname Chaya, immigrated to Guatemala from El Salvador as a young woman to work as a cook in a monastery. After working with a diplomatic family for 15 years, which allowed her to travel the world, she moved to NYC to work for the family that hired her on the Upper West Side.

“Over the past two days, her health has deteriorated,” Garcia told The Spirit in a follow-up interview. “Her doctors in El Salvador had to do a blood transfusion, and overall she’s very frail,” she said. “She’s spent over 11 days in the hospital, which is taking a toll on her physically. I’m hopeful that if we can get her home, as soon as possible, she’ll just feel more comfortable and recover from many antibiotics.”

A doctor who spoke with Garcia informed her that Rodriguez would need two to three weeks to recover from the transfusion and become able to fly, she said, providing a crucial window to acquire the necessary funds and “uplift her.” She noted that her young son was helping her print flyers to help spread word about the fundraiser.

Garcia, who grew up on the Upper West Side, met Rodriguez while working for a CitiBank branch on Columbus Ave. & 81st St. “She was my client. I never wanted to break protocol. You’re not supposed to have friendships with your client...but something about her was very, very magnetic,” she explained. “She gifted me flowers for my birthday. We have birthdays very, very close to each other. She could be anybody’s grandmother.”

After Rodriguez retired and moved back to El Salvador, Garcia realized that she’d possibly end up running into her, since Garcia also has family there. Sure enough, when she visited El Salvador “six months later,” she bumped into Rodriguez: “We became really, really close from there. My relative had a terminal illness. She was the one that helped me get a nurse, fed him, and she was there when he passed.” Therefore, she feels like it’s only right to “pay it forward,” by helping raise money for Garcia’s MedEvac.

The GoFundMe page can be found at the following website: gofundme.com/f/SupportMariaForMedicalCareUS. The fund has raised about $2,480 as of press time.