When I worked with The Pan American, the stories I covered were usually events around the University of Texas - Pan American (UTPA), around the Rio Grande Valley, and breaking news that dealt with students.
I have covered Jardin del Arte's Summer Nights Jazz Fest in July 2012 with tPA.
I have even covered stories that involve the safety of UTPA's students.
But I have never interviewed parents who have lost their 2-year-old daughter to Leukemia.
The story of baby Victoria's battle with cancer was one that many across the Valley will probably never forget. Her parent's were in need of help to keep up with expenses after the father quit his job in order to be with his terminally-ill daughter. This caused stress on the family because they had four other children under their care. As the Valley pulled together, and a young boy, who also was diagnosed with cancer, made a request to have a birthday party for baby Victoria before she lost her battle with Leukemia the day after her birthday party.
As I arrived in the KGBT newsroom, I was sent out on the assignment to interview her parents. My nerves were high! I have never interviewed someone who has lost a close family member, let alone their own child.
I arrived in a Harlingen funeral home where the parents were making the arrangements. When I had requested an interview, they seemed very hesitant at first, and I completely understood why. They just lost their precious daughter. They looked like they didn't sleep all night. Why would they speak on camera?
They agreed and as soon as I asked, "How are you coping with your daughter's loss?" The father lost it. He began to cry and responded, "How could anyone cope? It's day by day."
I will admit that I was uncomfortable during this interview but my job was to tell the viewers what the family is going through. How they feel and what they will be doing from here. I remember that my eyes watered as I listened to the mother tell stories of how vibrant baby Victoria was before she was sick. How much she loved her siblings.
As I went back to the Harlingen station, I told Kim about the experience and how intense the interview was. Even though I could have spent the next hour crying over the lost of this child, I went to work writing a script and edited the video for the 5 p.m. newscast.
This happened only in the second week of my internship. After this experience, I saw how difficult some stories could be. They are heart-breaking but it is very rewarding to tell a person'e story about their life, no matter how big or small that person was. Their loss from this Earth will always be the same.
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