Those of you who keep up with Mexico caving news are probably familiar with
Monica Ponce--or her name, at least, if not her wonderful smile. She
doggedly attended the ICS in Kerrville this past hot Texas summer,
bald-headed and smiling, and wowed nearly everyone she came in contact with.
For the past several years Monica has organized the SpeleoCoahuila caving
conferences in the state of Coahuila which used to be a part of the northern
Mexican territory of Coahuila y Texas, well before most of you were born.
Many of you have attended the conferences and know Monica personally. She is
a wonderful woman, a caver, and supports caving in a way that far surpasses
any of the efforts that most of us have been able put out on our own.
Last March, after a week-long trip to Brinco, Monica was diagnosed with
breast cancer and had surgery a week or so later. Since then she has been on
a chemo-therapy regimen that requires noxious treatments every 3 weeks.
Those treatments are very expensive and Monica's monetary resources have
dried up just before her last treatment is to be administered and her
radiological therapy set to begin. She is distraught.
Up to now she had been doing well and handling the treatment like a trooper,
posting photos of her clinic visits on the internet and keeping her extended
caver family entertained and informed. Her attitude has remained highly
optimistic and enthusiastic and her sense of humor is undaunted and she
remains otherwise healthy and exuberant. The outlook is good. Monica's only
anxiety concerns the eminent short-fall of funds to continue her
treatments.
Texas cavers have already donated almost $10,000 to Monica's cause. The UT
Grotto alone, in an amazing show of support, collected nearly $1000 at a
single Grotto meeting one Wednesday night.
Nevertheless, the need for ready cash continues. Any Texas or Mexican cavers
or cavers of the world who would like to help Monica out can do so by making
a generous donation--hopefully one with several zeros as many thousands of
dollars are still needed--and sending or handing it to me (make checks out
to me on Monica's behalf) and I will see that it gets delivered promptly.
Grottos are especially urged to encourage their members to contribute, even
if they don't know Monica. The lure of Mexico caves may someday call them
and Monica's efforts will almost certainly affect them personally at some
point.
Feel free to repost this appeal to other caver forums.
My address is:
Gill Ediger
300 Mockingburd
Austin TX 78745
My cell phone is:
410-303-1177
Monica's email address is:
<[email protected]>
and her cell phone number in Mexico (you can dial direct) is:
011-52-844-147-8311
She speaks English well enough for a meaningful conversation and can be
quite talkative, informative, and funny. Support of any sort, of course,
personal or financial, will be appreciated.
Monica's treatments should be completed in mid-November and with any luck
she will be able to start working on organizing SpeleoCoahuila 2010 where we
will hope to see you all, and Monica, next summer, somewhere in the caving
regions of the state of Coahuila. If you don't have a passport, get one
now.
Thanks a whole bunch for reading down this far and, please, be generous--a
fellow caver needs your help.
--Gill Ediger
Texas, Mexico, and the rest of the world
