Help Mary and Buzz After the Summer of Surgeries

Many of you know Mary as a friend and support in her communities, a scientist and an artist. To her family, she's not just a sister and daughter to us, she's a force to be reckoned with. She is above and beyond in energy, in personality, in the lengths she'll go to for the people she loves. This above and beyond energy, however, sadly describes the string of tough incidents she's had to contend with over the last year and half. It has been above and beyond your average difficult string of bad luck.

For those of you who don't know Mary, she's a scientist (https://www.maryksalcedo.com/) and academic mentor. She's an active member of her local roller derby team, the Ithaca League of Women Rollers. She was the head of the Harvard Chapter of SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) during her doctorate studies at Harvard. She is a visual artist often working in acrylics and mixed media. She is giving and loving, and adores her cat, Buzz, who she's had since she rescued him in 2010.

Over the last year and a half, Mary's been through a heartbreaking series of events. Last winter, she had an amicable but devastating split from her husband. This was difficult for Mary, but luckily she and her husband remained close friends and her community was there for her. Mary has always been resilient, from an early age of childhood surgeries, and her humor and determination helped her get through that tough time. But after her marriage ended last year, her Dad had a serious heart attack.

She flew across the country to be with him in the weeks leading up to his triple bypass. After he made it through, she flew home the next day, only to shatter her leg during a derby practice. The broken leg occurred within four months of her separation, and only weeks after her Dad's cardiac event.

It took an invasive leg surgery, a complicated recovery that sent her back to the hospital when her stitches split from an infection, and months of intensive physical therapy and strength training, but Mary healed. Not only that, she was on skates once again by the following year. She went through many other difficult things in that year, many of which aren't relevant to this fundraiser, but her optimism never waivered. Her commitment to her community--her swim ladies and roller derby and fellow scientists--never paused. We all hoped that this year, she was finally entering a season where she could start to rebuild.

But this summer, the hardware in her leg became inflamed during a hike. Some of the screws and plates they had put in, which Mary was told would be there for life, had to be removed. That happened a month ago.

Barely a week after surgery, she was told that her cat was seriously ill. Buzz has been Mary's constant companion for over thirteen years and her joy during a lot of the hard times she's gone through. Her vet decided that she needed to see a specialist for his dental issues, and this week, the specialist decided that investigation and surgery was needed this coming Tuesday to look for potential growths, remove decayed teeth, and figure out why his mouth is so inflamed and bleeding. The vet will be doing a cat scan and dental X-rays.

To help Mary deal with both the financial hardships for Buzz's surgery and her own, we're turning to her community and our own.

Mary needs to catch a break. She's been through nonstop hardships over the last year and half, and if life won't give her a break, we can. We can help cushion the blow. I know so many of you have stepped up with meals and crafts and your friendship and support to Mary over the last year and it's meant the world to her and to her family back on the West Coast. We hope that together, we can help give Mary space to start the next season of her life with one less problem to worry about by taking care of the financial issues that these surgeries for her and Buzz have presented.

We're fundraising $12,000 to help Mary take care of her leg surgery bills and help her pay for Buzz's surgery. If we only raise $7000, that will at least take care of Buzz's surgery, but if we can raise the full amount, it will allow Mary to begin this fall without the medical debt from her multiple leg surgeries, and now Buzz's dental issues, following her into this next academic year.

For pictures of her and Buzz, and to see the bills she's incurred so far, click on the image galleries. And feel free to share this fundraiser with your community.

We appreciate your help.