Vasquez Family (Courtesy photo)
BY TRINA “INDI” JOHNSON
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO, TX—At just 25 years old, Andres Vasquez Jr. is facing a diagnosis no one expects with a faith that has yet to waver.
The young husband and father was diagnosed with Stage 3 High-Grade B Cell Lymphoma and has met each painful turn of this journey with prayer, not panic.
His mother, Esmeralda Rios, said what gives her son peace is knowing the doctor’s results are never the final results.” From the earliest moments of his illness, he showed that kind of conviction, even as his world was being upended.
On May 5, Vasquez reported to work but appeared visibly unwell. According to Rios, “His sergeant and lieutenant advised him to have someone pick him up and take him to the emergency room or they would call an ambulance. He was pale and limping due to not being able to walk from the pain.” Instead, in a moment his family now points to as a symbol of his tenacity, Vasquez drove himself to Harlingen Medical Center. He expected gallstones or appendicitis. Instead, a mass was found, and he was discharged with instructions to pursue further testing.
Over the next nine days, his health continued to decline. On May 14, following admission to Valley Baptist Medical Center, doctors performed what was expected to be a biopsy of his lymph nodes. Rios recalled, “When the doctor returned, we got the news that he had cancer and that he had to do an emergency surgery.” An ileostomy bag was placed, and the official diagnosis came a week later: Stage 3 High Grade B Cell Lymphoma.
The physical toll was immediate and severe, but it was the emotional blow that nearly broke him. “Andres was spiritually strong but couldn’t help feel defeated,” Rios said. “He was physically and emotionally exhausted.” Yet something shifted in her son not long after surgery. “He quickly did a turn around and claimed he was going to be a walking testimony,” she added. “Every time he was feeling he couldn’t take any more, Pastor David from La Trinidad would show up and help restore his spiritual strength.”
Now two rounds into a six-round chemotherapy plan, Vasquez is slowly regaining strength. He no longer requires a walker and experiences less pain. His next scan will follow the third round of treatment and will determine whether the chemo is effective and what steps follow.
The diagnosis has tested not only Vasquez, but his wife Jennifer and their five-year-old daughter, Jemillette Andreanna. “They were on an emotional roller coaster,” said Rios. “Jennifer had just lost her father from cancer on November 24, 2024. My granddaughter and daughter-in-law were still grieving.”
In the midst of that grief, young Jemillette surprised them all with her instinct to care for her father. “Despite her age, she is always trying to help her dad. We learned she has a very nurturing soul. She would run to him every time he got up, just in case he would fall,” Rios said.
Rios described the hardest adjustment as simply “everyday life.” While there is no shortage of love surrounding the family, the disruption to their routines, finances, and emotional wellbeing has been profound.
Yet their support system has also offered moments of astonishing grace. “The amount of people that contributed to his fundraiser was astonishing,” Rios said. “The owner from Taqueria Rio Hondo opened up their doors and even donated food to help with the fundraiser that Andres’ grandmother Veronica put together.”
She added that the most powerful part of that outpouring wasn’t the food or the funds, but the prayers.
“What stood out the most was how many people reached out that had their churches praying. His story had reached so many people that he had thousands of people praying for him from all different states. That was the most beautiful thing that has happened from all of this.”
Now out of the ICU and spending time with loved ones, Vasquez continues to draw strength from his faith.
“What kept up his spirits was his faith. As soon as he was out of the ICU, family and friends reached out to show support,” said Rios. Though no formal prayer events are currently scheduled, she emphasized the importance of continued prayer “until he is cancer free.”
Known among family as quiet and thoughtful, Vasquez has long been admired for his steady character. “He is a young man with an old man’s soul,” Rios said. “He loves God, family, and nature. He’s known for being a fisherman and gamer. His passion is being with his daughter and wife.”
One moment in particular stays etched in his mother’s mind. “Andres was in excruciating pain. He did not know it at the time, but his incision had completely opened up,” she said. “He was weeping. I was hugging him. My heart was broken. A mother should never have to see their child in so much pain.”
Through tears, her son spoke words she says she’ll never forget: “I am not crying from the pain. Yes, I am in pain. BUT I am crying because it hurts knowing that people are going through this without our God.” It is that compassion—pouring from him even as he endures relentless pain—that his mother hopes the world sees: a man who prays for others while in himself breaking, waiting for the Healer.
Supporters may reach Jennifer Vasquez by email at jennymelendez54321@gmail.com. Donations are being collected at https://gofund.me/9ed3c24c. The family asks for prayer above all.
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