damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to, "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today the make-a-wish foundation making a wish, the wish of a young little girl, today on your, "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin now with something that's one of its kind i think, it's the latinx nurse's conference, it's happening here in san jose, it's coming up. with me on "comunidad del valle" are two latinx nurses. here to join us are adrian espinosa and lizette berrospe here to join us. welcome to the show. adrian espinosa: thank you so much, damian. lizette berrospe: thank you for having us. damian: talk to us about first of all this phenomenon, latinx nurse's association. it's national. adrian: yes, it is. nahn has been existed for over 40 years, and we are here in san jose as well. one of the smaller chapters, but we've been growing

over the years, but it's a beautiful thing where we have an association that supports latinos, the latinx community, and pursuing nursing, and hopefully seeing them through their journey, and then getting to the point of graduating and working in the field for comunidades. so, it's an amazing organization. i was a part of it as a student, now i'm working in the profession and i'm part of the leadership. i saw lizette go through it as well, and so it's a beautiful thing to see. damian: all right, well, here we're looking at the upcoming conference, it's happening right here in san jose. we'll talk about that in just a bit, but lizette, it's not easy to get in. i mean, i have a lot of friends who sign up for nursing school and you're not getting in, you're not getting in. talk about the challenges of even getting into nursing. lizette: yeah, absolutely. so, that's part of what being part of a chapter like nahn here in greater san jose, our chapter here locally. the amount of support that we get being part of this organization really helped pipeline me going towards becoming a nurse, yeah. damian: i mean, we all go through that. i belong to the national association of hispanic

journalists, and the same thing, they kind of mentor you through it, they give you workshops, they guide you through it. because again, getting in is not easy. you need as much help as you can get. lizette: yeah, absolutely. so, adrian has actually been one of my longest mentors. we have known each-- we've actually known each other for about ten-plus years. and we've actually--we always knew we wanted to do something in healthcare, but not exactly what. so, it's beautiful that we have met again in different paths of our lives, and here we are hosting our very own conference, first one of its kind here in san jose. damian: you know, speaking from experience, you have a loved one in the hospital and you leave in the hospital, you know, it's never fun being in a hospital 'cause of the things that are going on. but every time that i've left the hospital with a loved one, you leave with a sense of calmness because you realize that the nurses, the doctors too, but the nurses taking care of you day and night, 24 hours.

if it--you kind of become part of their family, they become a part of your family. talk about that aspect. adrian: exactly, i think--and many of us have had personal experiences where we had our family members in there, and we always say we want to treat those patients like we would our loved ones to be treated as well. and i think it's really important. you know, people in the community remember you, not only in the hospital, but in community clinics and the county, et cetera. there's so many roles the nurses play. and people remembered you, patients remember you, so i think it's so important that we make that connection. and it's not just about the, you know, the feelings and all that because that's so important, but also people underestimate nurses make a lot of critical decisions. we follow many patients throughout their journey, so it's something that is a difficult balance sometimes, but like you said, it's amazing to know that people, family members, friends will, you know, trust us in caring for those loved ones. and it's an honor and a privilege to do that on a daily basis. damian: you probably had mentors getting into the profession. is this part of giving back? i mean, we always tell the kids, you know, remember de donde vienes, and where you're going.

is this part of your paying back? adrian: exactly. i'm very fortunate my parents were farm workers, as we share that. and i've seen your journey as well. and you know, we're all very thankful for the opportunities we get. and i always tell myself when i have this platform, i would always want to give back. and i get so much back from it too, you know, seeing, like i said, my colleague and good friend lizette just graduate last week from nursing school. damian: congratulations. adrian: to see that and other peers do that, and also just see them, you know, excel in the profession is a real honor. damian: what, is it the caring, the giving back? what is it that made you say, "you know what? i want to do this." lizette: i think it's a combination of both. like in terms of joining nursing overall? yeah, absolutely. so, my grandmother, i looked up to her my whole life. and i would--she's from the [speaking in foreign language]. damian: she always had remedies at home probably. lizette: yeah, so people would bring their children to her in the sierras 'cause there weren't doctors, they were far away. so, my grandmother kind of when she immigrated here

to the united states, she was still practicing that thing. and it always--i always looked at that and i was like, "i want to do something to help the healing process." so, that's what intrigued me to do something in healthcare. damian: all right. well, the health, the conference, tell us about the conference. adrian: yeah, so the conference is coming up june 13 and 14th. the 13th in the evening is actually like a welcome reception ribbon cutting. we'll have a speaker welcoming everybody and we'll have heavy appetizers and some music just to get everybody kind of mingling and networking. and then friday the 14th, june 14 will actually be the content with the actual program. we'll have speakers talking about different topics such as indigenous health, daca and nursing, and other various topics. damian: we're getting deep with these topics. adrian: oh yes, we are, we definitely are. and definitely some nursing 101. so, for those people or students who are interested in just going into nursing, they're also welcome. and we also extend an invitation to all the healthcare professionals in general just to come together as community and to just support each other. damian: what did you mean by indigenous medical? adrian: so, we have one of our speakers that will be

talking, he's a great expert from--i've never heard him speak, but i read his bio and just talking about, you know, we have the curanderos, we have the people who believe, you know, that susto may bring diabetes or just talking about different things that, you know-- no, but sure, you know, we hear it to this day. so, a lot of things in our comunidad maybe talk about-- and some things that do work, you know, through our cultura that are natural and holistic as well. so, it's going to be exciting to hear about these topics. damian: all right. and it's an opportunity also, do you think a mentoring opportunity for those who might be thinking? i mean, my niece is thinking of nursing school. lizette: oh, absolutely. she's welcome to come in. so, we're inviting anyone who has interest. we're inviting students, even high school students if they're interested, come on in, join us. adrian: yeah, and that's what we're here for [speaking in foreign language] damian: all right. well, we do have more information. if you'd like to attend this conference, it's happening here. and there's the web address also. i thought it had a web address, there it is, greatersanjosenahn.org. well, thank you so much for what you're doing in this community, thank you. adrian: thank you, damian. lizette: thank you so much.

damian: we'll be back with more, stay with us here on, "comunidad del valle."

of mexico here in san jose. rodrigo navarro is consul, one of the consuls there at the consulado. welcome back to the show. you've been gracious to join us a lot. rodrigo navarro: thanks for having us again. damian: so, we want to talk about fraud today and how to not be defraudados in the community. rodrigo: right, we want to alert the community about many different ways of being scammed and being victims of fraud. so, we want to pay attention to many details before they are victims of these kind of incidents. we have detected in the past many ways of being scammed by bad people. one of them and the most common is immigration scams. so, please be aware that if any lawyer, any legal provider is offering you something that looks really good, probably you should give a second thought about it. you're not alone in that search. you can go to the consulate or maybe go look after official sites for the united states government just to make sure they're not taking advantage of your fear and also of your lack

of knowledge in immigration topics. so, that is one thing we are trying to address not only today, but throughout all the year. so, please be calm and be patient, and never give everything without asking twice about what they're offering you. damian: consul rodrigo, we say that over and over and over again here on the show and on the news, but it still happens, right? people still do it. rodrigo: yeah, yeah, they're very unlucky on that case because people is always waiting for something really hopeful, for something good. and there's bad people out there taking advantage of that situation. that's not the only case. another way of being scammed that we've detected in the past, sometimes you receive a phone call from someone claiming to have ahold one of your relatives. probably they tell you they are working for the airport, they are working for immigration services, or they are even the lawyers of the consulate. and they tell you that you should give a specific amount of money to release them, to give more information on the case. please be aware that no consulate and no american

government agency is going to give you a call asking for a ransom, asking for money to release one of your relatives. so, really be aware of that because they are also saying that there's people calling from the social security administration, sometimes from irs, from ice, or even from the mexican consulate and asking for money, asking for information. no official government is going to give you a call to ask for money, so. damian: i just heard a story on npr this past week, a lady got bad advice from a lawyer, she self-deported, now her family is here and she's in mexico, she can't come back. i mean, this happens. rodrigo: pretty sad, and it's because we are not alert because we don't pay attention to the right things, and we don't think twice before acting. so, any time you receive a phone call, they are going to probably give you some alarm and you're going to be scared. but think twice before doing anything. call the right guys, call the consulate, call the american-- damian: they can call your office just to make sure-- rodrigo: they can call our office just to make sure of that. and also, another way to alert the american community as well,

we've have been receiving cases of people, american citizens that probably they bought time shares in mexico for vacation or something. and some days pass and then they got phone calls from someone in orlando or probably in illinois. they are claiming that they are really interested in buying that property. damian: we've gotten those calls before. rodrigo: got in those-- in those kind of fraud scams, cases, they give a lot of money, they make it look like legitimate, they proof and they use letters, official letters, official seals and logos, and everything looks like really good. but they being a scam and they being rough, almost around $6,000. damian: wow. well, yeah, watch out for those timeshare scams. they say they want to buy them from you, but they're really not. there is the consulate of mexico, that's their address and mexitel if you want to make an appointment, there's the number for more information. thank you so much for the warning. i appreciate you coming back. rodrigo: thanks for having us. damian: and up next on, "comunidad del valle," making a wish.

you'll want to meet this little girl, stay with us. man, that's a cool looking hot tub. we should check on the baby. he's so sweet. maybe too sweet? internet's down. go! your home is only as smart as your internet. get reliable at&t fiber and get speeds up to 300 megabits per second and directv. bundle for 75 dollars a month for 12 months. limited availability. may not be in your area. more for your thing. that's our thing.

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a collaboration between the make-a-wish foundation, nbc bay area, and telemundo. with me on, "comunidad del valle," we're honored to join this beautiful family. mia vasquez is here, she's a beautiful young 11-year-old, and emelyn is the mom and daniel is mia's father. welcome to the show. emelyn locayo: thank you. damian: [speaking in foreign language] she's very--is she nervous or is she happy or-- emelyn: no, she's excited. damian: how are you, mijita? well, tell us-- tell us about mia. emelyn: so, mia is 11 years old. when she was first born, she was premature, so she was a preemie baby. and when they--we spent about 100 days in the nicu and they told us, you know, "take her home after the first year of life because we don't think she's going to make it past one year old." and she's actually surpassed every expectation that they've told her.

so, she just turned 11 about two weeks ago, and she's continuing to thrive. so, we're learning a lot from her and in terms of how to care for her special healthcare needs, and how to be a family in terms of those needs. damian: talk about how loving she is at home with-- emelyn: yes, she is very loving. she--you know, it's very difficult learning and raising a child with special healthcare needs 'cause we're constantly learning, constantly trying to adapt to her needs in an effort to provide her the best quality of life that she can have. and by best quality of life, meaning that we don't know how long we have with her and in terms of a lifetime we hope for. but with that, we want to provide her with some support and also to be happy. so, at home, she's a very happy, loving little girl. she's 11, so she's in her sassy preteen ways now, which is the scary part. damian: they don't go away, trust me.

emelyn: well, yeah, so that's--you know, and that's what--we weren't ready for this milestone, and so we're excited to continue to learn. i know, i know. and she's very more vocal, so what we've learned is that irregardless of the expectations that the medical community have, she's actually teaching us a lot about what she's able to do irregardless of her disabilities. damian: that's great. the last time you were on the show, we were talking about fatherhood and being a good father. talk about how that plays a huge role in your life. daniel vasquez: oh, this is--it is who i am pretty much. it's essence and it leads into everything i do in the community, whether it's being here, invited to talk about a fatherhood summit, or whether it's out in the community doing groups for dads, or just being a dad at home. i mean, it's the essence of who i am. especially with mia because she can't do anything. i mean, anything that you do to yourself-- do for yourself like brush your teeth, bathe, put on shoes, she can't do. so, she needs both of us there. irregardless of any challenges or barriers we're going through,

she needs both of us there. damian: all right. well, we're having a wish-a-thon here on nbc bay area and telemundo, it's an all-day thing. and tell us about this. this is an artist rendering, this is mia's dream? daniel: yeah, so that is mia's dream. we sat as a family after emelyn applied for make-a-wish. we sat as a family, thought, "let's think of an actual wish, what is the essence of a wish." so, we sat as a family one day at a local coffee shop and we sketched this, taking in consideration some of mia's favorite places around our city of hayward, which is we're both native. damian: and she-- is it a park or what is it that we're envisioning here? emelyn: yeah, so it's a park. so, the big thing that we want to emphasize is that make-a-wish is not about, you know, a child or a family losing their fight against whatever illness that they're-- that they've been diagnosed with. damian: it's not your last wish. emelyn: it's not our last wish, exactly. so, and we kind of thought, how do we think outside the box? you know, mia, as you can see, she's nonverbal most days.

but in terms of like she can't tell us or express what she wants and what she believes that she wants to do, so we were thinking, "what can we provide to the community? but also how can we provide-- how can we give back to the community?" so, when we applied for make-a-wish, it was a difficult process because it was learning to talk about--talk about a topic that we weren't ready to talk about, but also how can we make sure that this little girl has the best quality of life? but also what can we do to other-- to support other families like us? and by us, it's other families raising children with special healthcare needs. so, the park was an avenue where daniel was able to use his artistic skills. and we approached the city of hayward, and the city of hayward took the wish and have been continuing in raising funds. and the uniqueness of the park is that it's all areas about the city of hayward. there are different areas that mia enjoys to be at. and i don't know if you want to explain more about-- daniel: no, but the idea is an accessible place to convene,

to hangout, to take in the sun, whether you're a child in a wheelchair like mia is, or whether you're an adult with a disability, or sometimes grandma or grandpa take the children to the park so that they're able to enjoy every aspect of the park. that's what that is, no barriers. damian: is it a special needs park or not necessarily? daniel: correct, it is--we're calling it an ultra-accessible park, which the wish is to make every single area of the park completely accessible, slides, swings, structures, all those type of things. there's going to be a fire truck that's going to have cause and effect buttons that kids that are nonverbal can slap and it'll make some noise-- emelyn: but can roll in if they're in wheelchair. daniel: but they can roll in in a wheelchair to a swing that's going to be able to accommodate an entire wheelchair on it without having to get the person off the wheelchair. damian: that's beautiful. again, this is a wish-a-thon they're having here at nbc bay area and telemundo. it's happening on june 25, it's an all-day thing here at both stations. they're looking actually if you can donate any airline miles is

what they're looking for, also any disneyland passes that you might want to donate to the make-a-wish foundation. that's really why we're doing this. there is the web address for the wish foundation. but again, on june 25 is an all-day wish-a-thon on nbc bay area and telemundo. we'll be back with mia, stay with us.

and telemundo for the make-a-wish foundation and families like mia's. so, is it cerebral palsy what the diagnosis is at this point? emelyn: yes, the suspected diagnosis is cerebral palsy, so in simpler terms, mia needs total care. so she, even though she's 11 years old, she's not able to do the normal activities daily like activities of daily living, which is-- for us is brushing our teeth, getting up, getting out of bed, going to the bathroom. so, our focus as parents to her has been, how do we provide her the best quality of life in terms--

and how do we make sure that she's happy irregardless of any chronic pain that she may have since she was first born? damian: how much of a better human being do you think mia has made you? emelyn: she has--she has made me a better human being in terms of believing in myself and building the confidence that i can be a mother to a child with special healthcare needs and i can do this. we have our hard days in terms that, you know, sometimes you just want to quit and sometimes you don't know where to go because you don't know what to do because she can't communicate. and any pain that she has, you want to make sure that you can take it away from her. but she's strived me to-- you know, i pursued my dream career and she's also taught me that, you know, that i can advocate for kiddos like her and families like her. and i can make change in the community. damian: and i'm assuming, daniel, i mean, she needs her mom, she needs her dad. daniel: correct. damian: for those families who just may recently have been given a child with special needs,

what encouraging advice would you give them? daniel: you're not alone. you're definitely not alone. although at nights in the hospital, at home, in the wee hours of the morning when you do feel completely alone, you're not alone. there is a community out there for you. there's agencies, there's parents. and that's why, for us, make-a-wish was so crucial 'cause they gave us hope to kind of continue, hope to aspire to something bigger. and the ultimate end result of the park that make-a-wish is helping us with is actually have a hub of places where we can meet families of all walks of life, and then get that hope and say, "i know it's tough, it's tough for you, it's tough for me," and just keep going. damian: and there's a rendition of the park once again. and again, you were a part of that fatherhood summit. did this make you a better dad? daniel: oh, yes it did. it definitely did. as i mentioned earlier, it made me into a dad that wants to empower other dads and make changes in the community. something that i think if i didn't have me,

if it was a typical child, i don't i would've been as involved in the community 'cause we really want to-- and that's why we applied to make our wish something for the greater community. we really want to make a change in the community 'cause we've seen how alone we felt at times, but in reality we're not alone. and we want to network with other people, hence the park. emelyn: and create-- we created our normal, that's the big thing. i mean, you raise a child with special healthcare needs, you feel isolated, you feel alone. but we've found our normal. you don't feel normal, you feel so by yourself. and with the park, we were able to find our normal. and our normal doesn't mean what's in the textbooks. our normal is not what the doctors will tell you when you leave the hospital. our normal is what you create when you go back home. and make-a-wish allowed us to believe in that again. damian: your caregiver is here, she's in the studio. it's a thankless job probably, right? that just the work that it takes to care for a child. emelyn: yeah, yeah. claudia is mia's caregiver, her second mom, and she's been very helpful in the sense that providing

both--all three of us along with herself with the ability to, you know, continue with our lives irregardless of the barriers that you find raising a child with special healthcare needs. and it's also allowed us to believe that other people are willing to take care of a child with special healthcare needs regardless of all the strains and the stress and the constant changing environment to caring for a child with special needs. damian: and again, the make-a-wish foundation doesn't necessarily mean that it's a child's last wish. it just means, you know, it's a child who needs some help and this is your way to help out. again, we are having a make-a-wish-a-thon, it's a wish-a-thon happening on june 25 here at nbc bay area and telemundo. it's an all day wish-a-thon. there's a number to call for more information on the screen if you'd like to donate. again, they're looking for if you can donate your airline miles and donate tickets to disneyland, whatever you can. you can do it all on that day. how crucial are those gifts that people are willing to offer,

the miles if you will? emelyn: the miles are crucial. you know, it-- daniel: it helps get the families, if a child elects to go to disneyworld in florida and they live in northern california, then it helps get the family to whatever destination the child wish for, whether it was hawaii, or florida, or some children that wish for maybe to go to europe. they want to, you know, see italy. and so, those airline miles are crucial. and the disneyland, too. disneyland is beautiful, but it is pricey. and so, if the donations really help, i mean, we're here to show you that it really, really helps families like ours. emelyn: a lot of these wishes are out of the box thinking. a lot of these wishes are out of the box thinking that, you know, they empower families to think that way. and it's more so because it's an expensive lifestyle raising a child with special healthcare needs. you give up every wish, every dream you've ever had because you want to make sure that child can survive the next day, that your family can survive the next day. so, make-a-wish has allowed you to not see any of the finances

behind it, allows you to feel, allows you to think outside the box and pursue any dream that you think your child would be happy, and create those long lasting memories. damian: mia knew she was going to be on tv, she's wearing a big pink bow. emelyn: yeah. damian: well, again, we're having a wish-a-thon at nbc bay area and telemundo june 25. it's an all-day thing. donate those airline miles if you can. whatever you can spare to help a child who might have a wish. you can log on to the website, find out more, and tune in june 25 for that wish-a-thon. well, we thank you so much. and i mean, you get a lot of encouragement from all the community who is going to support you throughout this journey. emelyn: thank you for having us. thank you for letting us share our story. damian: thank you very much. and now, here's what's happening on your comunidad on que pasa. ♪ ♪

damian: and our saludos to those celebrating a special day, felicidades. ♪ damian: and here's our contact information. you can follow me on twitter, my handle is @newsdamian. and also pick up a copy of, "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. also, watch us on, telemundo channel 48, your "comunidad del valle" in español every sunday usually right after your nbc broadcast. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday. join us for that wish-a-thon on june 25. thank you for sharing your sunday with us, we'll see you again next week. pasa usted.

right now at 4:30, game one is behind them. game two is almost here. the warriors look to rebound against the raptors in the nba finals. joining us from toronto. plus, an unsettling night at an east bay ho tell when bullets start flying into cars and hotel rooms. cheers, boos and everything in between. a spirited convention for california democrats comes to a close in san francisco. the news starts right now. good afternoon, everyone. thanks for joining us. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> one of the most high profile political weekends is now over. top democratic contenders delive