My name is Daniella and I am the eldest grandchild of Joseph Safi, my amazing grandpa, who I call "Jijoe." My three-year-old self invented the name "Jijoe" as a combination of "Joe" and "Jiddo" (grandpa in Arabic), and it stuck. Jijoe is known for his glass half-full mentality, dedication to his family, and killer dance moves. The world around us could quite literally be in shambles, but Jijoe always finds a reason to smile. After moving to the United States from Beirut, Lebanon, Jijoe met my gorgeous, strawberry blonde and blue-eyed Irish grandmother, Patricia, who is his greatest blessing in this life. Jijoe was super cool, in a band, had an afro, wore platforms with flared pants, played the guitar... and my grandma simply could not resist his wit and charm. Their love story is my absolute favorite.... as it all began when my grandpa and his friend walked in for a blind double date, but found sparks with each other's matches instead. By the end of the night it was clear the pairings were all wrong, but perfectly right. Within 6 months, Joe and Patricia were walking down the aisle and promising forever to each other. My grandpa spent his adult life working numerous jobs to support his three beautiful daughters and wife back at home. My brave mother birthed me at 19 years old without my father around to support us, but my grandpa stepped in and raised me too, as his "fourth" daughter. I had the privilege of growing up in a small two bedroom Brooklyn apartment with my grandparents, mother, and aunts, where we shared the dearest memories and strongest laughs. We had little, but everything at the same time, because we had each other. Jijoe taught us all to always smile, be grateful, and love God.

About 14 months ago, my grandma suffered from a ruptured hernia, which landed her in a hospital for a very long time, where she lost a lot of blood, had to be placed on a ventilator, temporarily lost her memory and her ability to walk. This was the first time in my life, I saw my grandpa with a broken heart. He spent months by my grandmother's side in different hospitals and nursing homes, until by the grace of God, she recovered enough strength to come back home with a visiting nurse. Each day, she gets stronger and fights to improve her ability to walk on her own again. Jijoe is 75 years old and still works full-time to support my grandmother and her medical expenses in this unforgiving, dream-crushing economy. Yet, he does not complain and he remains full of hope and love for God. Everyone who knows my grandpa, knows that his love for my grandma is strong enough to move mountains! And in August of 2026, they will be celebrating 50 years married, yet they still look at each other as if they are newlyweds. Since my grandma has to sleep in a hospital bed now at home, my grandpa sleeps right next to her in a twin bed beside her bed, because they are absolutely inseparable and crazy in love after all of these years.

I created this GoFundMe to help my deserving, hardworking, and admirable grandfather recover from a heart breaking event, which created an immense financial strain, and spend more time resting with his wife, as all 75-year-olds should be able to do. Thank you for reading this far and for getting to know a little bit more about one of my favorite people on this planet Earth, my Jijoe.