FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Maria Sanchez Drasdo

-- Story by Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- When Maria Sanchez Drasdo speaks, both doctors and

patients listen.

That’s because at the Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic, Drasdo

gives both doctors and patients a voice.

She is an interpreter, volunteering time every Wednesday to translate

pain, hope, diagnosis and advice between Spanish- and English-speaking

people at the clinic.

“I feel so good when I accomplish something and help somebody and, in

this setting, I see the results immediately,” Drasdo said. “I help people

who are sick, who don’t have money and who are afraid to go to the

mainstream hospitals because they know they can’t pay. I see faces coming

in worried and leaving with a smile, and that just does it for me. The

hope you give them is incredible. For me, coming here is like going to

Disneyland. I have so much fun. And I make a difference.”

Drasdo said she began volunteering at her children’s schools after she

was invited by a volunteer she met after moving to the country 26 years

ago.

“I noticed right away that people here are really generous, not just

with their wallets but with their time, which is more valuable,” Drasdo

said. “It’s not enough to make a good living and be happy. You have to

give something back. It is very important, and I wanted to be sure my

children learned it from me by example. The message has come through;

they are volunteers too.”

When her children -- Salvador, 21, and Daniel, 19 -- finished high

school, Drasdo had to search for something else to do, and one of her

friends told her of the clinic’s need for interpreters.

Drasdo, who has volunteered at the clinic for three years, is also in

charge of scheduling the volunteers during her shift -- about four hours

every Wednesday -- and ensuring everything runs smoothly.

But her favorite role is that of the interpreter.

“I am the link between the patient and the doctor,” Drasdo said. “I

get to practice my first language, Spanish, which is nice because my kids

speak English and we use English at home. And it’s an eye opener. I mean,

some of these people have never been to a doctor before or have had bad

experiences with doctors.”

The challenge is to translate everyone’s meanings exactly, she said.

Getting the tone and implications just right is important to avoid

misunderstandings, and in some ways, Drasdo said, she feels like an actor

trying to imitate people.

Drasdo said her Mexican birth gives her an added advantage: She

understands the voice inflections and body language that give her

additional clues about the patients.

“There’s a little bit of psychology involved,” she said. “Sometimes I

tell the doctor that I think something is wrong other than what someone

is telling you or that I think someone is lying, and usually I am right.

Sometimes they need food or they’re having family problems.”

The hardest part is not the work itself, but the pain of translating

bad news, Drasdo said, adding that hope and the knowledge that patients

are getting good treatment keeps her spirits up.

“At first, I thought I would stay here for maybe six months, but now

I’m having too much fun to leave,” she said. “The people -- those who

work here and those who come here for help -- are so much fun. I meet so

many people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise and people of all

ages. I’ll probably retire from volunteering here. If God allows me, I

will be here for a long time.”