To say that these last few months have been difficult for my friend Tony would be an understatement. Tony works with me at the hospital, after I hired him away from the gym that I met him at. He was a fantastic trainer, knew nothing about the medical world, and is as polite as the day as long! He was a standout from the start. Fast forward 4 years. He’s now married with a two year-old and another baby due in July, but has gone through some unimaginable, awful things over the last few months.

I’ve never been moved to set up a GoFundMe, but I know that some financial access would enable him to process some of the legal things that he needs more quickly. Tony’s parents have been in ‘not perfect health’ for a long time and he has a sister, who is an adult with special needs. His parents & sister lived together in a home with lots of animal love, including five dogs. Tony found his father deceased at home less than SIX weeks ago. His mother who has health issues has gone into a tail spin and his sister needs to have Tony take over or be much more involved in her life while he juggles work and his young family, equally as important. They are his world! This past weekend wiring in his parents garage ignited and basically burned down the house. His mother is in the burn trauma unit in Miami with severe smoke inhalation and is currently intubated & sedated and will need skin grafting in her future. Fortunately, his sister was not home at the time of the fire, and we are all very thankful for that fact. The fire department was able to save 4 of the 5 dogs, but sadly one perished.

Tony spent Sunday trying to button up the house as best as possible to keep people from getting in there and looting as unfortunately the fireman had to take down all the doors and the roof is completely damaged as well. Due to a variety of issues there is no insurance on the house. Tony will continue to walk through the Legal hurdles that all of us do when we lose someone, including settling his father‘s estate and providing stability for his sister. Meanwhile, the clock ticks closer to a new baby coming, and I just want him out from underneath some of this pressure. If you would be moved to either make a donation, say a prayer or pass this information along to others, I would be eternally grateful as I know they will be. Thank you for your consideration!