Roge was never a complainer when he was ill. In the summer of 2004, about the time of our Galvan Family Reunion the end of July, he was suffering from high fevers and his body appeared to be bloated. That didn’t stop Roge from putting on his comedian show of the year. At our parent’s home where he lived, in the company of many cousins and friends, he performed an “ad lib” skit that kept us laughing for hours. Those of us that were there will never forget that night.

A week later, the family band played at the local city park for a Mexican Fiesta and as he was helping to load instruments, he pulled a muscle in his upper left arm. He told mom that it was bothering him a little, but that it just felt like a pulled muscle. A few days after that, he began developing blisters around the area of the pulled muscle, but he still wouldn’t complain, he said that it didn’t hurt. The next morning he woke up and the blisters were all popping and oozing puss, the flesh was literally falling off his arm. Dad immediately took him to the emergency room where the attending physician informed Roge that he knew exactly what he had and that he would be lucky to survive the night.

Roge was rushed into surgery where the infected flesh was completely removed from that left arm. He began to stabilize for a while, but the surgeon knew that the Necrotizing Fasciitis was traveling way to quickly. Soon it had traveled to his chest and abdomen area. The doctor informed all of us to prepare ourselves and to say goodbye to him because there was nothing more that they could do. But Freddy (brother) would not give up. He demanded Roge be taken to another hospital for more advanced treatment or back into surgery to remove more of the infected flesh. We couldn’t just let him die!!

So the surgeon gave in to our appeals and returned Roge to surgery a second time. Several hours later, Roge, still alive and back in the ICU, was clinging to life by a thread. Again, the surgeon took us aside and told us that we needed to say goodbye to Roge, the second surgery only kept him alive for a couple more hours. The necrotizing fasciitis was traveling through his body like wildfire and soon it would reach his vital organs.

August 13, “Friday the 13” at approximately 5:00 a.m., at the age of 28, Roge passed away. I suppose he would have wanted to go on such a day and the way he did . . . you would have just had to know him. His family and friends all miss him terribly and will never forget his big teddy bear caring heart and his hysterical sense of humor. La Familia band will forever miss playing with you at their side, but know that you are making music in heaven with sister Elsa.