My brother Fernando passed away on the morning of October 24th 2023, He was a very vibrant spirit who enjoyed the simple things in life. We would go shoot some hoops, talk about the Lakers and the Broncos and how we would improve the team if we could just coach it. Towards the end of his life he was troubled by addiction and mental health. I, even though I am able to be used by God to make a difference in peoples lives by being of service working in the field of substance abuse recovery, sometimes felt so powerless to be able to do anything for him. We worked hard for the last 10 years trying to find a solution and at the end I know he's found peace.

I rest easy knowing he was saved and had Jesus in his heart, We would go to church together at times and I saw the way he longed for the spirit of God in his life.

I can say that I know in my heart he is in heaven resting from the pains in his life. I hope he has found peace and relief from the emptiness he was plagued by. I love you little brother, I will always be your little big bro and even though you towered over me at 6'7 I could always feel you looking up to me. Now I look up at you, I hope I was able to measure up to the levels of esteem you had me at. I hope I can continue to make you proud and serve others the way maybe I wasn't able to help you. I hope you know you'll always be in my heart man, I'll always love you and miss you so much. I want you to know that throughout our lives, the ups and the downs, I had your back like I know you had mine. Be at peace and fly high my dude. Rest in perfect peace. Don't worry about mom, I'll look after her. Until the next one man, I'll catch up to you and we'll enjoy some of the laughs and jokes we always used to.