PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — A man halfway across the world is fighting for an emergency visa to travel to Tennessee after his mother, Daisy Valenzuela Vives, was tragically killed last week, struck by a truck while crossing Dollywood Lane in Pigeon Forge.
6 News spoke with her son, Roger O’Connor Valenzuela, a Cuban citizen and pastor in Singapore, as he shares his grief and efforts to join his father in the U.S temporarily during this time. On August 8, Roger O’Connor Valenzuela’s world turned upside down. What was supposed to be a celebration for his father’s birthday weekend in Pigeon Forge became the day he lost his mother.
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“My father did a video call with me and the neurosurgeon and basically, the beginning of that call was the neurosurgeon telling us, ‘I am so, so, so sorry.’ And when the doctor tells you something like that, you know that it’s not good news,” explained Roger.She had suffered massive intracranial bleeding after being hit by a truck.“Since the moment I was told by the neurosurgeon ‘I’m very, very sorry, there’s no coming back from this,’ I started the visa process because, as a Cuban national, there’s a travel ban for us. So, I filled out my DS-160, I started contact in the embassy, friends on the other side, started to contact a lawyer,” said Roger.Roger is now awaiting a U.S Embassy interview, hoping to travel to Tennessee to support his family and attend the funeral.“When someone passes away, for those who are left behind, that’s not the end. That’s the beginning of a very long process in so many ways. So, I just want to be there for him and support him,” added Roger.He said he has no intention of staying in the U.S. His job, wife and life are all in Singapore. Now Roger is leaning on faith and holding out hope for a chance to say goodbye.
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“I really don’t know if there’s such a thing as closure, but I cannot imagine how it will feel to go through life knowing that I couldn’t say goodbye to her: Daisy Barbara Valenzuela Vivas,” said Roger.Roger will interview with the U.S embassy on Monday in Singapore. He shared with 6 News his mother was caring and always there for people, he wants to thank everyone who has reached out to support him during this difficult time…