Kryptonite Blues

Ben Esquivel passed away on December 7, 1999. He made an impact on all those who knew and loved him. Benny wrote an article which was featured in the Summer 1998 edition of El Guardián in which he described the difficulties he and his family were having in maintaining his level of care due to changes in Medicaid regulations. He was fighting severe cutbacks in the number of nursing care hours he was receiving. His father bravely struggled to provide the round-the-clock care that Benny needed to survive. "...there were many times I wasn't sure if I would make it through the night", Ben wrote. His body finally gave out but his influence lives on in the family members, friends, and school children that he touched with his story. As his sister wrote so eloquently in his eulogy, "Farewell, Son, Brother, Friend, and Nino". We have lost our Super Man.