Funeral expenses for Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues
Donation protected
Dr Rodrigo Pereira de Almeida Rodrigues, a Brazilian national and post-doctoral fellow in biomedical sciences at The University of Edinburgh sadly passed away unexpectedly in his room at East Mayfield, Newington, Edinburgh between the dates of 30th December 2021 and 2nd January 2022. He was only 32 and had a bright and promising future ahead of him in the field of cancer research.
Rodrigo's family reside in Brazil and Portugal, and as it appears that Rodrigo did not have life insurance, his family need support regarding funeral, legal, and travel expenses.
Rodrigo will be remembered by all as a patient and kind friend and a dedicated scientist. He completed his PhD at St Catherine's College, Cambridge University in 2019 and continued into post-doctoral research roles at Cambridge University and then most recently at The University of Edinburgh. His family were very proud of him, and he was known to a great many fellow academics and friends throughout the United Kingdom and beyond.
The family wish to have a cremation and service in Edinburgh, and a service of remembrance for the wider family within the Church of Seventh Day Adventists in his home country of Brazil.
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My name is Daniel. Rodrigo and I became friends at Cambridge some 6 years ago when he was still working towards his PhD at St Catherine's and I my Masters at Wolfson. Initially our common interest was that of Brazilian Portuguese. He helped me practice while I took evening classes in the language department. After my own graduation, we remained good friends on my return to Edinburgh - with us regularly messaging and meeting up in Cambridge, London, and Edinburgh for evenings out socialising and discussions on medical topics that would go way over my head. During his time stuck in Brazil with visa conflicts this last year, we would have video calls from time to time. Since then, we had early plans to travel to Israel this year, a country he had visited before and loved.
The last time I met with Rodrigo in person was on the evening of December 14th in Edinburgh. We met for a drink in his local pub in Newington and exchanged Christmas gifts. We made tentative plans to spend Christmas together at my mum's place and New Year's Eve in either Edinburgh, London, or Glasgow. Rodrigo and I would message regularly - perhaps most days - during the last few weeks. In the end, on Christmas his flatmates hosted a festive gathering and Rodrigo spent the day in their company. Certainly, from the video he sent, he had a great time. We decided to spend our New Year’s Eve together with a couple other friends in central Edinburgh (given that we expected COVID restrictions to be brought in in London, and his club night in Glasgow had already been cancelled). When I messaged Rodrigo on 31st to confirm our meeting time, his phone was off. My assumption - that I will certainly regret for the rest of my life - was that he just wanted some time alone. Since Rodrigo and I would always meet in other locations I never actually had his exact address of the last 3 months, only an approximate area. This meant by Sunday 2nd January when I was starting to become really concerned - I phoned NHS Lothian admissions to confirm he wasn't in hospital, social services and the police - the only option available was a missing person report, which seemed very heavy-handed for someone who maybe just wanted to be left alone. By Monday 3rd, Rodrigo's brother had reached out to me. We were able to figure out the address and I arrived perhaps an hour after the police. My heart was broken on the doorstep of his building.
I have been helping the family - initially with the language barrier, and now with some of the necessary arrangements. So, I, Adriano - Rodrigo's brother in Brazil, Natali of the Brazilians in Edinburgh group - who has been very kind, compassionate and helpful over these most difficult of days - and Marcia of the Brazilian Embassy in London present this fundraiser in hopes of alleviating Rodrigo's parents and family of at least one of the pains of losing a beloved family member. The University of Edinburgh have likewise pledged to help however they can.
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My name is Daniel. Rodrigo and I became friends at Cambridge some 6 years ago when he was still working towards his PhD at St Catherine's and I my Masters at Wolfson. Initially our common interest was that of Brazilian Portuguese. He helped me practice while I took evening classes in the language department. After my own graduation, we remained good friends on my return to Edinburgh - with us regularly messaging and meeting up in Cambridge, London, and Edinburgh for evenings out socialising and discussions on medical topics that would go way over my head. During his time stuck in Brazil with visa conflicts this last year, we would have video calls from time to time. Since then, we had early plans to travel to Israel this year, a country he had visited before and loved.
The last time I met with Rodrigo in person was on the evening of December 14th in Edinburgh. We met for a drink in his local pub in Newington and exchanged Christmas gifts. We made tentative plans to spend Christmas together at my mum's place and New Year's Eve in either Edinburgh, London, or Glasgow. Rodrigo and I would message regularly - perhaps most days - during the last few weeks. In the end, on Christmas his flatmates hosted a festive gathering and Rodrigo spent the day in their company. Certainly, from the video he sent, he had a great time. We decided to spend our New Year’s Eve together with a couple other friends in central Edinburgh (given that we expected COVID restrictions to be brought in in London, and his club night in Glasgow had already been cancelled). When I messaged Rodrigo on 31st to confirm our meeting time, his phone was off. My assumption - that I will certainly regret for the rest of my life - was that he just wanted some time alone. Since Rodrigo and I would always meet in other locations I never actually had his exact address of the last 3 months, only an approximate area. This meant by Sunday 2nd January when I was starting to become really concerned - I phoned NHS Lothian admissions to confirm he wasn't in hospital, social services and the police - the only option available was a missing person report, which seemed very heavy-handed for someone who maybe just wanted to be left alone. By Monday 3rd, Rodrigo's brother had reached out to me. We were able to figure out the address and I arrived perhaps an hour after the police. My heart was broken on the doorstep of his building.
I have been helping the family - initially with the language barrier, and now with some of the necessary arrangements. So, I, Adriano - Rodrigo's brother in Brazil, Natali of the Brazilians in Edinburgh group - who has been very kind, compassionate and helpful over these most difficult of days - and Marcia of the Brazilian Embassy in London present this fundraiser in hopes of alleviating Rodrigo's parents and family of at least one of the pains of losing a beloved family member. The University of Edinburgh have likewise pledged to help however they can.
Fundraising team (3)
Daniel McMitchell
Organizer
Scotland
Natali Silverio
Team member
Marcia McCusker
Team member
