Man's fight to eliminate steroid use is awarded, By: Julie Kay

06-22-06

Ever since 19-year-old Efrain Marrero abruptly took his life in 2004, his parents, Brenda and Frank, have spearheaded a passionate effort to eradicate steroid use, which they believe killed their son.

Through the Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation, which they founded last year, they have given talks to students, parents, coaches, and senators around the country. To this day they continue, never knowing the exact impact of their efforts.

"All the work we do, you wonder if the message is being received," said Frank Marrero this week.

But earlier this month, Marrero got a positive signal, loud and clear.

First, he received a phone call from an official in the California State Legislature, informing him that the government body had decided to pass a resolution supporting the Marreros and their efforts.

Not long afterward, Marrero heard from an official in the League of United Latin American Citizens, a national, 150,000-member organization. Marrero, an Air Force Reserve colonel, learned he had been named the organization's outstanding senior military officer of the year. The honor is one of LULAC's Presidential Awards, presented by LULAC President Hector Flores.

Marrero will receive the award next week in Milwaukee, Wis. as part of LULAC's national conference Ten thousand people are expected to attend the conference, at which speakers this year include Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

"I was completely surprised," said Marrero of the award. "The (LULAC) president

only gives out two or three awards each year.

"What drives us is our son," Marrero continued. "We want to give him the dignity he deserves."

Just weeks before he died, Efrain, a talented football player at Vacaville High School and the College of Siskiyous, told his parents he had been using steroids in an attempt to become a bigger, stronger lineman. Days later, under the advice of a physician, Efrain quit cold turkey. Only after he was gone did his parents learn that stopping steroid use abruptly can cause serious depression.

Between then and now, Marrero's parents have learned more about steroids than they ever expected to know, including the stories of scores of young people who died after using steroids. The more they have learned, the more steeled has become their resolve to spread their message.

Marrero said appreciates the recent recognition, not for himself, but for the attention it brings the Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation.

"I am not the one who deserves this," he said. "Efrain, and all the children who have died from steroids, they deserve this."