Patricia & Francesco. A Love Story’s Next Chapter.

2/28/2025 Update:

I am sorry to announce the passing of my dear friend Francesco. He fought hard and bravely. Please send this story along to your loved ones and friends/ donate what you can.

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Dear friends, family, and kindhearted strangers,

I can’t begin to express how much it means that you’re taking a moment to read about my dear friends Patricia and Francesco, and how much your support will mean for Patricia as she steps into single motherhood with two incredible little boys.

As with any story, perhaps it is best to start at the beginning…. 

 In April 2009, one of my closest friends (Patricia) was finishing a stint in the Peace Corps in Africa. She had asked any of her friends back home in the States if they would like to join her on a vacation to Italy when she was done. I was the only taker. A week before the vacation, while climbing Table Mountain in South Africa, she met an Italian man (Francesco) who said she should look him up when we came into the country. Needless to say it was love at first site.

On our vacation the following week, she gave Francesco that call and it was a whirlwind. He was charming, kind, and the story was out of a movie.

(The 3 of us on that vacation) 

Patricia ended up moving to Italy, and they ended up having two beautiful boys and an equally beautiful marriage. For nearly two decades, they built a life together, and in 2023, they took a leap of faith — moving from Italy to Canada with their two boys, then 2 and 4, to follow an exciting professional opportunity for Francesco, a railway engineer, was being invited to help expand Toronto’s transit lines. This meant Patricia, a local small business consultant, would have to start her career over. But Francesco's expat position would provide their apartment and car, so they figured it was a safe bet.

Well the fairy tale could only last so long. Francesco was diagnosed with stage IV cholangiocarcinoma—bile duct cancer that had already spread to his liver and lungs.

They fought with everything they had. Chemo, immunotherapy, clinical trials—anything to buy more time for their boys. Navigating this became a full time job for Patricia while Francesco worked at his job through every treatment and test, just to get what little time they could.

Now, in what feels like the blink of an eye, Francesco is on home oxygen, and treatment has stopped. 

Patricia is now facing the impossible: losing her husband, their family income, and home - while seeking to comfort the children with sense of security and stability throughout an unfathomable time. 

Why They Need Your Help: 

 

A psychologist working with the family stressed that consistency and continuity are critical for the boys as they process this loss. Any additional upheaval in their home and from their community is potential harm for them.

That’s why I’m asking for your help—to build a bridge of financial support that will give Patricia and her children the time and stability they need to heal, and reduce any additional trauma the loss of their father and husband will lead to.

They are unfortunately in a precarious situation. As they are not residents of Italy anymore, many public benefits do not apply to them; and since, as an expat, Francesco is not considered a Canadian employee, many private benefits typical to Canadian firms, do not apply to him.

Your donation will help with: -End-of-life care for Francesco at home 

-Rent for their current home, so the boys don’t have to move in the same months they lose their father, while giving Patricia the ability to find work. 

-Travel to Italy to bring Francesco’s ashes home and navigate the required bureaucracy 

-Moving expenses as Patricia transitions to a new job and downsizes to a smaller apartment. 

-An immigration lawyer, as Patricia and the boys will lose legal status in Canada when Francesco passes. 

-Living expenses in the short period between Francesco’s passing and Patricia securing work. 

Our collective action will offer this amazing and unfortunate family the resources they need to get from where they are now, to their new reality as a single-parent household. 

 If you can donate, any amount will help give Patricia and her boys the time they need to land on their feet. If you can’t donate, please share this page—your kindness and generosity will make a difference in ways you can’t imagine.

(My visit a few months ago)

With love and gratitude, 

Rob