BY MEG LAUGHLIN
Marisleysis Gonzalez, whom attorneys for her family call ''the
surrogate mother of
Elian Gonzalez,'' was hospitalized Tuesday for ''emotional anxiety''
again.
This hospitalization at Coral Gables Hospital brings the total
number of known
hospitalizations to six for Gonzalez since Elian's arrival in
November, and the
number of known hospitalizations since June to seven.
In two cases, the reason given on forms was ''nervous stomach.''
In three
other cases, the reason given was ''emotional anxiety.'' But
in two other cases,
hospital officials would not divulge the reason.
As usual, Gonzalez, 21, was admitted on an emergency basis and,
as usual,
went to a hospital different from the one she was last admitted
to, which was
Mercy Hospital. This time, she went to Coral Gables because it
was ''the
closest transport,'' said a fire-rescue officer.
She was taken from La Carreta Restaurant on Southwest Eighth Street
on a
gurney after she became pale and nauseated after a round of early
morning
interviews.
In June, Gonzalez was admitted to Palmetto Hospital. Then, in
December, 10
days after Elian was rescued from the sea and came to live with
her, she was
admitted to Pan American Hospital. In February she was admitted
to Hialeah
Hospital, and four days later later, she was admitted to Mercy
Hospital. And
according to Armando Gutierrez, spokesman for the Gonzalez family,
she was
admitted to emergency rooms two more times since Elian's arrival
- a second
time at Mercy Hospital and a second time at Coral Gables Hospital
- bringing the
total number of known hospitalizations to seven.
Repeatedly, Gonzalez's father, Lazaro, and Gutierrez point to
her fear of losing
the boy and the media attention heaped upon them as reason enough
to explain
the stress and exhaustion that result in chronic dashes to the
emergency room.
Little is known about Gonzalez's past that might further explain
the repeated
attacks of anxiety. She graduated from Miami High School in 1997,
then went to
Miami-Dade Community College, where she signed up for classes
for three
consecutive semesters in 1998 and 1999. But each semester, she
quickly
withdrew, causing her to be put on academic probation in May.
Currently, Gonzalez is on unpaid leave from her position as an
assistant loan
processor at Ocean Bank.
Copyright 2000 Miami Herald