Francis passed away peacefully on March 26, 2019 after a long, hard courageous fight.  Though our hearts are heavy and we miss him tremendously, we know God has other plans for him. 

When we first started this campaign, our hope was to be able to assist with the costs of his  current medical treatments, and a future heart transplant opportunity in California, however, with Francis’ passing, our cause has evolved into a medical and memorial fund in his honor.   We are so grateful for all the love that has been shown to our family from friends and family near and far.  Thank you all for the continued love, support, kind words, prayers, and donations for our brother Francis.  

 


On February 20, 2019, our brother, Francis Tafua; also known as “Franny” or “Sole” to his close friends, experienced an intense cardiovascular episode while checking in for a routine check-up at Wilcox Medical Hospital on Kaua’i, Hawai’i.  As he was walking up to the clinic at Wilcox, he experienced an instant feeling of extreme exhaustion and difficulty breathing.  Thankfully, he was just outside the clinic and a nurse walking into the building, noticed his symptoms and immediately transferred him to the emergency room where he was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.

What most may not know is, Francis has been battling a very sensitive heart condition.  He continued to go to work and do his best to “be in the moment” with friends and family all while receiving medical assistance and direction from the cardiologist at Wilcox.  He has been experiencing similar; yet minor, shortness of breath episodes for over a year now, but his Doctor did not suspect his heart condition to be as severe as the week leading up to his emergency room/ICU admittance. 

Francis spent over 3 weeks at Wilcox’s Intensive Care Unit hooked up to oxygen in order to help him breathe.  He’s had to deal with IV’s in his neck and arm, intense monitoring of his heart, heart tests and monitoring and all while he endured sleepless nights and not being able to eat because of pain and discomfort.  We prayed continuously as family and friends were there to help keep his spirits up.  Through it all, Francis kept his spirits up and stayed unbelievably strong, especially when updates from the doctor were not at all what we had expected.

He was finally transferred by air ambulance to Pali Momi Medical Hospital on O’ahu on March 16, 2019, and immediately, the O’ahu doctors worked on putting a plan into action to improve the conditions of his heart.  Test after test, procedure after procedure, and a roller coaster of ups and downs, we are constantly on edge as he continues to fight.  His heart is currently being assisted by an intra-aortic balloon pump which helps pump blood and fluids throughout his body, and he has a high pressure oxygen machine offering him support to breath in addition to multiple medications to treat various effects of a weakening heart.

Because of the machines and IV’s supporting him, he is now restricted to the bed and has limited movement of his arms and left leg only yet through all of this, when most of us would’ve snapped by now or even after an hour in his situation, he remains so strong and calm and complies to all the restrictions which is so inspiring yet very difficult to witness. 

We have the utmost faith in God and His plan for Francis.  Our family has seen and experienced the impact that he has had in the community through the outpouring of prayers and support and we are so grateful.  You don’t know how much this support means to Francis as he continues to face this heart condition with all that he has.  He’s determined to “get on the line” and on path to recovery to a potential heart transplant.  We’ve been asked to create this go fund me account by friends to help with medical expenses for Francis’ current and future recovery opportunities.

As our older brother, he never wanted a big fuss made over him or for any of us to worry because he felt it was his job to look out for us.  If you know Francis Tafua, you too know of his easy-going, “no worries” demeanor and his generous heart.  Being in his situation its now our turn to step up and take care of him.

On behalf of Francis and our family, we humbly ask for your heartfelt donations.