By Adam Lisberg
New York Daily News
Copyright 2007 Daily News
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON — Two hours before Ceasar Borja was supposed to step into the Capitol to attend the State of Union address, his cell phone rang with the worst news of his life.
His father, a retired cop who breathed toxic Ground Zero air for months, had died of lung disease.
Borja trembled. His voice contorted in pain. And then the 21-year-old promised his family that he was going to sit in front of President Bush, exactly as planned, to bear witness to the suffering of thousands of others like his dad.
“He passed away right when I’m down here fighting for him. This is the most I’ve ever done for Dad,” he told his mom. “Mommy, you know I’m strong, Mom. You were with him, though, right? Good. That’s all that matters to me. Comfortably and no pain.”
Borja was shivering as he talked on a dark sidewalk outside a Capitol Hill restaurant. Other Ground Zero victims and staffers from Sen. Hillary Clinton’s office wrapped him in their arms and sat him down at an empty table. Tears started to fall.
“Dad always knew the man I could become, and I love him for that,” Borja said. “Dad didn’t go down without a fight, Mom. You know that.”
Borja’s dad, Cesar, 52, was a Filipino immigrant, a former Army paratrooper and an NYPD cop who never missed a day of work in 20 years.
He volunteered for months of 16-hour shifts at Ground Zero so he could make overtime for his wife, Eva, and their three children: Ceasar, whom he called “Kuya,” the Filipino word for older brother; son Evan, 16, and daughter Nhia, 12.
He retired in 2003. He started coughing soon after. By the time he was properly diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis last fall, he could barely walk and his lungs were filled with scar tissue.
He checked into Mount Sinai Medical Center on Dec. 19. He died there at 6 p.m. Tuesday night.
Borja flew to Washington Tuesday morning as the guest of Clinton, D-N.Y., who gave him her extra seat to watch President Bush’s speech. Clinton, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and other New York lawmakers invited Borja and four others affected by Ground Zero air to sit in at the State of the Union, in hopes their presence would inspire Bush to put $1.9 billion for treatment into his budget.
They spoke at a news conference. They took their message to lawmakers and TV cameras. And they were eating dinner before the President’s address when Borja got the call.
He next took a call from Clinton, who told him that he was a tribute to his father. The others at his table began to weep. He told them how his father called him “Sunshine,” and how he had stayed up past midnight the previous evening looking at old pictures of them together.
Joseph Zadroga came over. He spent 27 years in the NYPD, but his son James, a city detective, died of the same lung disease after serving at Ground Zero.
“You tell the world what they did to your dad,” Zadroga said.
An aide from Clinton’s office rushed over with Borja’s coat. He slid his arms into it, then pulled out a white surgical mask from the breast pocket.
He had worn it the night before in an intensive care isolation room, when he kissed his unconscious dad’s hand for the last time.
“I said, ‘Dad, tomorrow I’m going to Washington, D.C., to fight for you.’ And the last thing I said as I was leaving the room was, ‘I’m going to make you proud, Dad.’”
Then he walked outside, supported on others’ arms, and walked the cold streets to the Capitol.
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