Hello friends, I am writing to you to ask for your help and support of our dear friend Jose Coutinho, better known to all of us as Ze. Ze is the superstar father to 3 beautiful children. His 3-year-old twins Gabriel & Mattheo and baby Kai, 1 1/2 years old. His wife Ana Clara and Ze have a beautiful family and many of you know them. Besides being a great dad, husband and superstar athlete he is one of Nantucket's resident paddle tennis champions year after year. Unfortunately, at last week's paddle tennis tournament Ze suffered a torn Achilles! An injury such as that would be a tough thing for any of us. But adding to the unfortunate injury Ze is having challenges with his much-needed surgery because of unforeseen insurance complications. He has already put off this needed surgery twice as he tries to work around the insurance issues, he most likely will not be successful at. He cannot keep pushing this surgery off any longer. He has a tentative date for surgery this Wednesday but the out-of-pocket costs to pay for this surgery personally was not something Ze (or anyone of us) had planned for. I am asking all my fellow NSRA members to please consider helping Ze and his family with financial support as he navigates the financial burdens of paying for the out-of-pocket surgery while at the same time not being able to work. Thank you in advance for your support and compassion for this wonderful friend and his beautiful family!

Tom Mccann