Leukemia Patient Dies Hours Before Mother Arrives From El Salvador

A leukemia patient whose mother in El Salvador finally won permission from federal authorities to visit him one last time, died Thursday afternoon just hours before her plane landed.

Fernando Pedrosa, 25, died about 5 p.m. at Flagship Health Care while his mother was on her way to see him.

“He tried to wait for her but I guess God didn’t want him to wait,” said his cousin, Isaias Lopez, who was with Pedrosa when he died. “He cried, and then he just closed his eyes. . . .. He went away thinking his mom was coming.”

The family, with the help of friends and relatives, cleared many bureaucratic hurdles in trying for the last reunion.

The mother, Adela Lopez, was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department in November because she did not have enough money to ensure her return to El Salvador, according to an INS official.

Then, for more than a month, relatives, friends and social workers had worked to reunite Pedrosa with his mother.

Local INS officials said they were not aware of the situation until last week.

On Tuesday, an emergency permit was granted by the INS to allow the mother to enter the United States for 60 days on humanitarian grounds.