Help For Joe And His Family
Donation protected
Looking for a little help for my best friend and his mom. Really hoping to put together some financial relief for the major set-back that this long out-of-town hospital stay has taken on this family.
Those of you who know Joe, know him as a happy, optimistic, inspirational, all around great guy but for those of you who don't know the whole story of Joe Bruni... It's one filled with struggle, defying odds, and resounding strength.
The Story
My friend Joseph was born 31 years ago with a very uncommon critical congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot. In short, he had a combination of four different defects within his heart resulting in insufficient oxygenated blood circulating to his body. Before Joe was two, he had undergone three heart surgeries in hopes to receive a new conduit to replace his absent pulmonary artery. However, high pulmonary pressures prevented the procedure and two year old Joe was given back to his mother with a grave prognosis. Doctors predicted that Joe would not live beyond his early teens and the time he did have would be lived through a limited lifestyle punctuated by multiple hospital visits (some lasting months).
At ten years of age, by the grace of God, Joe was considered eligible for the repairs he needed. These life-saving repairs were enough to give him a full life of quality despite the many bumps along the road. For then next 20 years Joe has enjoyed life as much as anyone, always appreciating everything that comes his way. Quick to laugh, thoughtful, kind, honest, are just a few of the traits anyone who meetsJoe will see in him right away. They are also traits he's instilling in his own baby girl Emma (she turned nine this year).
This past month, Joe has had a very serious complication which left him with life threatening failure in the right side of his heart. In addition to his heart, his liver also began to fail. Sitting in Toronto's C.I.C.U for a week Joe was running out of time and was given two choices either he stop all treatment to survive maybe a couple of weeks out of hospital or undergo yet another serious surgery but have very little chance of survival. One trait I didn't mention above is that Joe is also very devoted. Devoted to his family, his baby girl, and his friends, he made the decision to face all the odds that had been stacked against him in hopes that he could continue to be a part of our lives.
Once again through the grace of God, the prayers and thoughts of all his friends and family, Joe made it! His recovery has been going very well. To the happy amazement of his surgeon and medical staff he has been progressing in the right direction with nothing but high spirits. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean he's entirely conquered his condition. His journey will not be complete until he receives a full heart and double lung transplant at some point in the future.
So that's just one part of the story of Joe Bruni, father, friend, and son. Which brings us to the reason I started a GoFundMe page today. Joe's mother has been along for this roller coaster of a ride for 31 years and has been standing vigil next to her baby boy for more than a month now in Toronto General hospital. One of the strongest women I know, she is eight hours from home, spending a majority of her nights camped out on a chair next to Joe or on the waiting room couches while he was in CICU. Unable to maintain nearby accommodations elsewhere due to the financial weight of a lengthy stay. Unable to work while away and in addition to the lost wages the spending of savings on travel, food, parking, the occasional lodging etc. has put stress on this family who just wants to stand by Joe and ensure he recovers into a healthy long life. He has made it through this stage but the next stage is going to be a large financial concern as well, to be eligible for a heart and lung transplant, he and his mother will have to uproot and move to Toronto to be within thirty minutes of the hospital while waiting on the transplant list. The costs of this are enormous. This is why we're looking today for support for the Bruni family.
Through this site, my hope is that we can get together (family, friends, community) to offer some relief. This family is facing a tough road ahead and ANY donation of any amount will help to make it a little easier on them. Joe and his family have received an overwhelming amount of love and support and are more than thankful for any donation big or small.
Please Give What You Can... When you donate, all money received will be given directly to the Bruni family.
We fully understand that not everyone is in a position to give. If that's the case please leave a comment, share some love, and let Joe know you're thinking about him.
And if you're not already registered as an organ donor, please give it some thought. Keep in mind, a single organ donor can save up to eight lives through the choice to give.
Those of you who know Joe, know him as a happy, optimistic, inspirational, all around great guy but for those of you who don't know the whole story of Joe Bruni... It's one filled with struggle, defying odds, and resounding strength.
The Story
My friend Joseph was born 31 years ago with a very uncommon critical congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot. In short, he had a combination of four different defects within his heart resulting in insufficient oxygenated blood circulating to his body. Before Joe was two, he had undergone three heart surgeries in hopes to receive a new conduit to replace his absent pulmonary artery. However, high pulmonary pressures prevented the procedure and two year old Joe was given back to his mother with a grave prognosis. Doctors predicted that Joe would not live beyond his early teens and the time he did have would be lived through a limited lifestyle punctuated by multiple hospital visits (some lasting months).
At ten years of age, by the grace of God, Joe was considered eligible for the repairs he needed. These life-saving repairs were enough to give him a full life of quality despite the many bumps along the road. For then next 20 years Joe has enjoyed life as much as anyone, always appreciating everything that comes his way. Quick to laugh, thoughtful, kind, honest, are just a few of the traits anyone who meetsJoe will see in him right away. They are also traits he's instilling in his own baby girl Emma (she turned nine this year).
This past month, Joe has had a very serious complication which left him with life threatening failure in the right side of his heart. In addition to his heart, his liver also began to fail. Sitting in Toronto's C.I.C.U for a week Joe was running out of time and was given two choices either he stop all treatment to survive maybe a couple of weeks out of hospital or undergo yet another serious surgery but have very little chance of survival. One trait I didn't mention above is that Joe is also very devoted. Devoted to his family, his baby girl, and his friends, he made the decision to face all the odds that had been stacked against him in hopes that he could continue to be a part of our lives.
Once again through the grace of God, the prayers and thoughts of all his friends and family, Joe made it! His recovery has been going very well. To the happy amazement of his surgeon and medical staff he has been progressing in the right direction with nothing but high spirits. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean he's entirely conquered his condition. His journey will not be complete until he receives a full heart and double lung transplant at some point in the future.
So that's just one part of the story of Joe Bruni, father, friend, and son. Which brings us to the reason I started a GoFundMe page today. Joe's mother has been along for this roller coaster of a ride for 31 years and has been standing vigil next to her baby boy for more than a month now in Toronto General hospital. One of the strongest women I know, she is eight hours from home, spending a majority of her nights camped out on a chair next to Joe or on the waiting room couches while he was in CICU. Unable to maintain nearby accommodations elsewhere due to the financial weight of a lengthy stay. Unable to work while away and in addition to the lost wages the spending of savings on travel, food, parking, the occasional lodging etc. has put stress on this family who just wants to stand by Joe and ensure he recovers into a healthy long life. He has made it through this stage but the next stage is going to be a large financial concern as well, to be eligible for a heart and lung transplant, he and his mother will have to uproot and move to Toronto to be within thirty minutes of the hospital while waiting on the transplant list. The costs of this are enormous. This is why we're looking today for support for the Bruni family.
Through this site, my hope is that we can get together (family, friends, community) to offer some relief. This family is facing a tough road ahead and ANY donation of any amount will help to make it a little easier on them. Joe and his family have received an overwhelming amount of love and support and are more than thankful for any donation big or small.
Please Give What You Can... When you donate, all money received will be given directly to the Bruni family.
We fully understand that not everyone is in a position to give. If that's the case please leave a comment, share some love, and let Joe know you're thinking about him.
And if you're not already registered as an organ donor, please give it some thought. Keep in mind, a single organ donor can save up to eight lives through the choice to give.
Organizer
Gene Wesselius
Organizer
Sault Sainte Marie, ON