Support Raphael Fonseca's Journey
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
It is with heavy hearts and continued disbelief that we must inform you that our beloved friend, dance partner, and work colleague, Raphael Michilis Marques da Fonseca, was recently diagnosed with an inoperable and untreatable brain tumour. Doctors have given him just a few months to live.
For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have Raphael in your life - either for many years or maybe even for just one dance - you’ll know what a special person he is. You will have experienced the amazing ability he has to light up a room and to make every single person he comes in contact with feel like the most important person in the world by flashing his amazing smile, expressing his sincere affection and, yes, telling his infamous jokes.
Given Raphael’s prognosis, we are doing everything in our power to ensure that the time he still has with us is as meaningful and happy as possible. He is already in unfathomably good spirits due to the incredible outpouring of love from friends and family he has received from around the world. He has, somehow, managed to be our rock through the last few weeks as all of his amazing qualities and love for everyone have shone through even brighter than ever before.
In order to make as many of his wishes as possible come true in his final days, we are kindly asking for any contribution you can make. No contribution is too small. Given that all options for treatment or a cure have now been exhausted, your contributions will go primarily to help us bring as many of his family members as possible from Brazil so that they can spend some time with him and be able to say their final goodbyes in person. This is especially important to Raphael as, for one reason or another, he only managed to make it back to Brazil one time since moving to London 14 years ago and his family hasn’t been able to visit him in London. If funds are left over after bringing his family to London, they will go in his name to a charity or charities which help those with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a condition he’s had his entire life, and/or brain cancer, which will soon take him from us.
We will continue to post photos and videos on this site so that everyone can feel a part of Raphael’s amazing journey through life - a journey which will, sadly, be cut short far too soon.
Lots of love,
Ulysses, Paz, Ed, Ashley and Chris
*******UPDATE*******
Dear Friends,
We wanted to provide you with an update on Raphael’s condition as well as how we are utilising this fund, which is, of course, comprised of all your generous contributions. As was expected, unfortunately, Raphael’s health has continued to deteriorate, and he now needs constant care and supervision. Given this, we are leveraging a large portion of the funds to pay for private nurses and carers to spend 7 nights a week with him. Even with the NHS’s incredible support - and it has been amazing - these costs were not initially foreseen and, as such, were not outlined in the original Go Fund Me request. Obviously, however, Raphael’s care our is our number one priority and he is being incredibly well tended to by both friends and professional carers.
On a happier note, even with all the headwinds due to the corona virus and its impacts on global travel and immigration, we were able to get Raphael’s first family member, his brother Brunno, to London yesterday, Monday 15 June. His other immediate family members should all be receiving their emergency passports by the end of the week and will, hopefully, be joining Raphael and Brunno here in London very soon.
As per Go Fund Me rules, I need to provide you with some information about myself, my relationship to Raphael, and some more specifics about how these funds are being - and will be - spent. My name is Chris Cooper and I’m originally from the US but have now been in the UK since 2013 and am a dual national of both countries. Raphael and I originally met in 2009 and dated from then until 2013. Since that time, we became very close friends. I am currently leading Raphael’s care team alongside our friends Paz and Ed and will be the beneficiary of the monies raised on Raphael’s behalf. In terms of what the funds are being utilised for, as mentioned above, we are now required to hire private nurses to supplement the amazing care and attention of the NHS and give us night-time coverage. That is, currently, costing around £2,500 per week but we are constantly looking for less expensive options. A trip for each of the 5 family members will cost around £1,000. Beyond that, the funds are going to various odds and ends related to his care. We have not yet been able to plan for all the costs related to the inevitable day - which none of us want to arrive - but will be several thousand more GBP, at a minimum. As mentioned in the original request, any funds which might remain after Raphael is no longer with us will be given to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome charities in his name. I am in conversations with a couple of organisations and will update you again once we know more.
Thank you again for your generosity and mutual love of our Raphael!
Best,
Chris
It is with heavy hearts and continued disbelief that we must inform you that our beloved friend, dance partner, and work colleague, Raphael Michilis Marques da Fonseca, was recently diagnosed with an inoperable and untreatable brain tumour. Doctors have given him just a few months to live.
For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have Raphael in your life - either for many years or maybe even for just one dance - you’ll know what a special person he is. You will have experienced the amazing ability he has to light up a room and to make every single person he comes in contact with feel like the most important person in the world by flashing his amazing smile, expressing his sincere affection and, yes, telling his infamous jokes.
Given Raphael’s prognosis, we are doing everything in our power to ensure that the time he still has with us is as meaningful and happy as possible. He is already in unfathomably good spirits due to the incredible outpouring of love from friends and family he has received from around the world. He has, somehow, managed to be our rock through the last few weeks as all of his amazing qualities and love for everyone have shone through even brighter than ever before.
In order to make as many of his wishes as possible come true in his final days, we are kindly asking for any contribution you can make. No contribution is too small. Given that all options for treatment or a cure have now been exhausted, your contributions will go primarily to help us bring as many of his family members as possible from Brazil so that they can spend some time with him and be able to say their final goodbyes in person. This is especially important to Raphael as, for one reason or another, he only managed to make it back to Brazil one time since moving to London 14 years ago and his family hasn’t been able to visit him in London. If funds are left over after bringing his family to London, they will go in his name to a charity or charities which help those with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a condition he’s had his entire life, and/or brain cancer, which will soon take him from us.
We will continue to post photos and videos on this site so that everyone can feel a part of Raphael’s amazing journey through life - a journey which will, sadly, be cut short far too soon.
Lots of love,
Ulysses, Paz, Ed, Ashley and Chris
*******UPDATE*******
Dear Friends,
We wanted to provide you with an update on Raphael’s condition as well as how we are utilising this fund, which is, of course, comprised of all your generous contributions. As was expected, unfortunately, Raphael’s health has continued to deteriorate, and he now needs constant care and supervision. Given this, we are leveraging a large portion of the funds to pay for private nurses and carers to spend 7 nights a week with him. Even with the NHS’s incredible support - and it has been amazing - these costs were not initially foreseen and, as such, were not outlined in the original Go Fund Me request. Obviously, however, Raphael’s care our is our number one priority and he is being incredibly well tended to by both friends and professional carers.
On a happier note, even with all the headwinds due to the corona virus and its impacts on global travel and immigration, we were able to get Raphael’s first family member, his brother Brunno, to London yesterday, Monday 15 June. His other immediate family members should all be receiving their emergency passports by the end of the week and will, hopefully, be joining Raphael and Brunno here in London very soon.
As per Go Fund Me rules, I need to provide you with some information about myself, my relationship to Raphael, and some more specifics about how these funds are being - and will be - spent. My name is Chris Cooper and I’m originally from the US but have now been in the UK since 2013 and am a dual national of both countries. Raphael and I originally met in 2009 and dated from then until 2013. Since that time, we became very close friends. I am currently leading Raphael’s care team alongside our friends Paz and Ed and will be the beneficiary of the monies raised on Raphael’s behalf. In terms of what the funds are being utilised for, as mentioned above, we are now required to hire private nurses to supplement the amazing care and attention of the NHS and give us night-time coverage. That is, currently, costing around £2,500 per week but we are constantly looking for less expensive options. A trip for each of the 5 family members will cost around £1,000. Beyond that, the funds are going to various odds and ends related to his care. We have not yet been able to plan for all the costs related to the inevitable day - which none of us want to arrive - but will be several thousand more GBP, at a minimum. As mentioned in the original request, any funds which might remain after Raphael is no longer with us will be given to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome charities in his name. I am in conversations with a couple of organisations and will update you again once we know more.
Thank you again for your generosity and mutual love of our Raphael!
Best,
Chris
Co-organizers (3)
Mo Omar
Organizer
England
Chris Cooper
Beneficiary
Ian Price
Co-organizer