WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- The teenaged daughter of a 44-year-old Dominican Republic man dying of a bone marrow disease in Maryland staged a piano recital for him in his final days.
Cid Ortiz, 44, arrived at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda campus in 2002, six years after his aplastic anemia was diagnosed, and doctors have told him unless a bone marrow transplant match is found, he only has several weeks to live.
His friend Grace Rivera-Oven sprang into action, and hastily organized a concert featuring renowned pianist Carlos Cesar Rodriguez, and Ortiz's own aspiring pianist, 14-year-old daughter Catherine.
With word spread through Hispanic media, the hall was packed Friday, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Many wept as Catherine played a piece she had composed titled "Mi Alma" ("My Soul") in honor of her father.
She also played Sonatina No. 4 by Frantisek Xaver Dusek, Albert Biehl's "Windmill in Holland" and Mozart's Minuet No. 2 in F Major.
Afterwards, Ortiz returned to the hospital with his wife and two daughters, who have decided to stay by his side until the disease claims him.
