Denise's New Life

Hello Everyone,

 My name is Joe Franco and my older brother is Nick Franco.  We are the sons of Denise Franco, our hero and our protector for all our lives.  She lost the love of her life, our dad, Nicholas Franco, at the age of 32 of a massive heart attack.  She became a 32 year old widow overnight with two sons; Nick was 6 years old and I was 15 months old.

 Her dream shattered in 1985 when our dad passed away.  Mom took over the role of sole caretaker for me and my brother, introducing us into sports, especially baseball.  Because of her strong belief and passion for us, we played baseball from T-ball throughout college on both athletic and academic scholarships.  We are both teachers and head baseball coaches for two different high schools.  Mom is proud of her boys!

 In 1990, mom chased another dream, becoming an interior decorator.  She has the passion and eye for design and her many clients can attest to that.  She was successful and happy creating beautiful interiors throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties for the past 25 plus years.

 Unfortunately she has not been able to work for the past few years due to her declining health and is on oxygen 24/7.  She recently got accepted into the Jackson Miami Transplant Institute for new lungs.  She has completed months of pre-transplant testing and is strong and healthy enough to move forward with this transplant.  After the transplant, she will have to take many anti-rejection medications that are very expensive.  Her health insurance will cover some but not all costs are covered.  Since my mom has been unable to work, her income will not be sufficient enough to cover the rest of the cost of the medications that she will need.

 My brother and I are praying and hopeful that our village of friends and family will share our story to help us cover these medications which are essential for a complete recovery and successful transplant.  Our mom is a beautiful person and everyone who has had the pleasure of knowing her will tell you what a kind and loving and compassionate woman she is.

 Let’s all help Denise Franco succeed with her new dream of new lungs!  She can’t wait to be able to play baseball with her 3 ½  year old grandson, Jackson Nicholas Franco, and watch him start his career in baseball this fall with T-ball!!

 My brother and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any help and prayers for our beautiful mother.