Brud's Memorial Fund
Donation protected
Many of you have asked how you can help or what you can do to be helpful in this time of mourning. It is extremely difficult for Sonia to ask for any sort of help, so I have put this page together to help her move forward in her grief and to plan a Celebration of Brud’s Life.
Over the past several years, Brud had been struggling with several serious health conditions from chronic diastolic congestive heart failure, deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, and aortic valve stenosis. In May 2018, Brud had been scheduled to have open-heart surgery to replace his aortic valve along with coronary bypass surgery, however they were cancelled at the last minute due to Brud’s heart having too much eggshell calcification around his entire heart. Luckily, they were able to perform a transcatheter aortic valve insertion (TAVI) procedure. Brud recovered from the procedure and was feeling so much better.
In February 2019, Brud travelled to Puerto Rico to bury one of Sonia’s family members. Unfortunately, Brud had been hospitalized for a week and was being treated for influenza A and Pneumonia. When they arrived back home, Brud was taken to Kaiser Hospital to get an evaluation of his then current health condition. The chest x-ray showed no signs of pneumonia; however, he had been admitted for fluid retention and the swelling of his legs. He was released the next day. Brud continued to see his primary physician for a nagging cough that would not go away, he was being treated but showed no improvement.
Brud continued to do volunteer work with some of the organization he had a passion for. He did not let his health issues keep him from doing what he loved to do. His love and encouragement to helping people were evident.
It was not until mid-April that a CT scan was performed; unfortunately, he never got the test results. Brud continued to struggled with the cough, which would keep him up at night. He also had difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, and fatigue. His health was slowing deteriorating. However, that did not stop Brud from organizing an Easter Fair Barbeque for approximately 1000 people in attendance. He worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran perfect and that everyone received a meal. Little did anyone know that would be his last and final event he would organize.
On April 23rd, Brud was admitted to the hospital with chronic respiratory failure. He had abnormal low oxygen levels and was receiving oxygen therapy. He was put on a noninvasive ventilation machine that blew air directly into his lungs. A chest x-ray and another CT scan were done to obtain a better view of his lungs. The test results revealed either tuberculosis (TB) or lung cancer. They needed to rule out the TB, which took several days. Results came back negative to TB. Now they needed to rule out lung cancer. A biopsy needed to be done, but because he was on a high-pressure ventilation machine and was not breathing on his own, they kept postponing the procedure. They tested some of his sputum, which revealed cancer cells. Brud’s health began to quickly decline. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and Brud shockingly passed away on the evening of May 2nd of stage 4 metastatic adenocarcinoma lung cancer. Who would have ever predicated that Brud’s life would end with this type of disease and not with what everyone was thinking, congestive heart failure?
Sonia has tirelessly spent each day by Brud’s side as his caregiver and medical advocate, and as his wife. Sadly, Sonia has learned that Brud’s pension will be put on hold for a minimum of 8 weeks, his 401K account now depleted and his Social Security Disability Income ceased the day he passed.
As you can imagine, the family is grieving and the last thing they should worry about are finances. We can help them through this very difficult time and I know they’d be extremely grateful for the love, support, and any means of outreach.
Please, let's come together to lessen the financial burden on top of the incredible loss this family is already experiencing and help lessen the worries in the days, weeks and months to come. Thank you for your love, support and prayers.
Over the past several years, Brud had been struggling with several serious health conditions from chronic diastolic congestive heart failure, deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, and aortic valve stenosis. In May 2018, Brud had been scheduled to have open-heart surgery to replace his aortic valve along with coronary bypass surgery, however they were cancelled at the last minute due to Brud’s heart having too much eggshell calcification around his entire heart. Luckily, they were able to perform a transcatheter aortic valve insertion (TAVI) procedure. Brud recovered from the procedure and was feeling so much better.
In February 2019, Brud travelled to Puerto Rico to bury one of Sonia’s family members. Unfortunately, Brud had been hospitalized for a week and was being treated for influenza A and Pneumonia. When they arrived back home, Brud was taken to Kaiser Hospital to get an evaluation of his then current health condition. The chest x-ray showed no signs of pneumonia; however, he had been admitted for fluid retention and the swelling of his legs. He was released the next day. Brud continued to see his primary physician for a nagging cough that would not go away, he was being treated but showed no improvement.
Brud continued to do volunteer work with some of the organization he had a passion for. He did not let his health issues keep him from doing what he loved to do. His love and encouragement to helping people were evident.
It was not until mid-April that a CT scan was performed; unfortunately, he never got the test results. Brud continued to struggled with the cough, which would keep him up at night. He also had difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, and fatigue. His health was slowing deteriorating. However, that did not stop Brud from organizing an Easter Fair Barbeque for approximately 1000 people in attendance. He worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran perfect and that everyone received a meal. Little did anyone know that would be his last and final event he would organize.
On April 23rd, Brud was admitted to the hospital with chronic respiratory failure. He had abnormal low oxygen levels and was receiving oxygen therapy. He was put on a noninvasive ventilation machine that blew air directly into his lungs. A chest x-ray and another CT scan were done to obtain a better view of his lungs. The test results revealed either tuberculosis (TB) or lung cancer. They needed to rule out the TB, which took several days. Results came back negative to TB. Now they needed to rule out lung cancer. A biopsy needed to be done, but because he was on a high-pressure ventilation machine and was not breathing on his own, they kept postponing the procedure. They tested some of his sputum, which revealed cancer cells. Brud’s health began to quickly decline. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and Brud shockingly passed away on the evening of May 2nd of stage 4 metastatic adenocarcinoma lung cancer. Who would have ever predicated that Brud’s life would end with this type of disease and not with what everyone was thinking, congestive heart failure?
Sonia has tirelessly spent each day by Brud’s side as his caregiver and medical advocate, and as his wife. Sadly, Sonia has learned that Brud’s pension will be put on hold for a minimum of 8 weeks, his 401K account now depleted and his Social Security Disability Income ceased the day he passed.
As you can imagine, the family is grieving and the last thing they should worry about are finances. We can help them through this very difficult time and I know they’d be extremely grateful for the love, support, and any means of outreach.
Please, let's come together to lessen the financial burden on top of the incredible loss this family is already experiencing and help lessen the worries in the days, weeks and months to come. Thank you for your love, support and prayers.
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Jaclyn Irizarry
Organizer
Mission Viejo, CA
Sonia LeTourneau
Beneficiary