HELP US HELP OUR BROTHER RECOVER

HELP US HELP OUR BROTHER RECOVER

 

 

10/12/2021

 

Hello, I am Andrea Phillips and with my Mother, brother and sisters am here to ask for a financial gift to help us with the ongoing support of our brother, Canon Henrique Fragelli, in his fight against the Covid.

 

The virus has had him in an iron grip for five months.

 

This week (10/11/21) he was placed on a list to receive a lung transplant, his only option going forward.

 

The prayerful support from family and friends has been overwhelming and has us amazed and hugely grateful. We believe it is what has kept him going.

 

But now we are in the position of indefinite support for him in Italy involving expensive, ongoing lodging, travel, etc. , which has become increasingly costly for our family.

 

We are deeply aware that we are all suffering, each facing something painful/demanding, so any gift you may spare will not only be appreciated but revered.

 

Henrique's Story

 

Henrique was ordained a Catholic priest in 2008 with the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, a missionary order. Their seminary is in beautiful Tuscany outside of Florence, Italy.

 

After ordination, he served for a few years in the U.S. and then was asked to resurrect the order's first mission in Gabon, Africa. Malaria and dire contingencies had forced its abandonment years before.

 

I remember my brawny brother confessing that when he first arrived, he wanted to run. In the heart of the African bush, the complex was devoid of a single parishioner, and in need of extensive repairs.

 

But in a few years, he had a thriving mission bustling with activity, complete with a bakery, a carpentry shop, a ladies' sewing guild, a store, a clinic, guest quarters, a school, an orphanage and a winning soccer team!

 

My husband and I hyper-ventilated just reading his reports!

 

But then, Henrique always had "tornado" in his veins.

 

In school, his Kindergarten teacher knocked at my fourth grade, "...can I borrow Andrea?" Five-year-old Henrique was bawling in the hallway.

 

I remember hugging him but he was inconsolable. Finally, Mom and teacher discovered that his sole problem was sitting all day. Teacher set him to chores. He was happy.

 

Life would reveal the reason for such energy.

 

Indeed, his mission thrived, a place of joy and faith. But he personally paid with multiple bouts of Malaria, which his sturdy frame withstood, and survived...

 

...Until the Covid hit...

 

In early May, we received the news that Henrique had contracted Covid. Knowing his record of Malaria, I shuddered.

 

The dreaded virus went straight for his lungs.

 

Within a week, he was induced into a medical comma. His last gasps to us, "...don't worry..."

 

Thanks to the generosity of the First Lady of Gabon, a great friend of Henrique's mission, he was flown from Africa to a hospital in Florence, Italy, close to his seminary.

 

On May 21 he was placed on an ECMO artificial lung and has been on it since.

 

Recently, his lungs went from depending 100% on the ECMO to working on its own 40%. We were elated. But only last week (10/4/2021) the doctors determined that progress seems to have plateaued. Barring a miracle, the only hope is a lung transplant.

 

Miraculously, he got a green light! Yes, he is being placed on the list to receive a lung. A nod to the good old constitution and a blow-kiss to God's goodness!

 

And then, right on the heels of relief, the thought, someone will have to die for him to live...

 

So painful trying to wrap one's mind around all these modern-day contingencies...Yet, if I had to go and my lungs could help another's child/brother I wouldn't hesitate.

 

And now, the wait for a lung begins.

 

Maria

 

Maria and Henrique are next to each other in the family– best buddies.

 

In the beginning of July, Maria (her children now all out of the house) made the valiant decision to travel alone to provide moral support for him. Bruce, her husband, is our other hero for his support of her wish to go and stay by our brother's side during this difficult time.

 

Her assistance to Henrique as he was weaned from sedation and re-entered the scary world of consciousness – invaluable. Recently, mouthing words, he conveyed to her, "I would have died if it weren't for you…"

 

And now as the indefinite wait for a lung begins, Henrique was moved a few days ago from Florence to Sienna to a hospital specialized in supporting transplants.

 

What you will be helping

 

Thankfully, Henrique's staggering medical needs are covered by his order's insurance in Italy.

 

But ongoing support for him is costly and has been coming out of Bruce and Maria's savings. Those of us who can, have also been helping from ours.

 

 

Any outstanding funds will go to:

 

 

We will always bless you

 

Again, any amount applied to meeting our goal will be a huge blessing.

You all remain deep in our prayers asking the good Lord to bless you and yours in return.

And given our brother back, we will ask him to include you all in his Masses for as long as he is granted life.

 

I can hear my Mother's old teaching, "don't greet with someone else's hat..."

 

Somehow, I'm sure I can do it this time.

 

Love you all!

 

Andrea

(We are beyond grateful for the generosity and the donations coming in. Any funds left from being applied to the ongoing family support of our brother, Canon Henrique Fragelli, and his possible future rehab, will be applied to his mission, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus, in Gabon, Africa.)