Memorial Fundraiser for Louis Franco Sr.

My father, Louis Franco Sr., passed away on 03/09/2022 at the age of 71. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my father and my family during his hospitalization. This is a very difficult time for all of us, as the sudden deterioration of his health was unexpected. There is peace in our hearts that he is ultimately in God's hands, but it's still not easy to come to terms with the reality that he's gone. It's been devastating news for our immediate family and for most of our extended family as well. We originally came to the hospital for a straightforward dialysis surgery, which went well, but afterwards low blood pressure and a combination of other health issues arose, and progressively, over the course of 2 weeks, he went from regular hospital recovery, to ICU, to passing. It was a difficult 2 weeks for my mom and I, as we were with him every day. Thankfully, my younger brother and youngest sister were able to be by his side with us during the last week. My father was a really strong man who went through a lot of difficulties the past few years, and he will be missed greatly.

He was married to my mom for 35 years, he was the father of 5 children, and he was the grandfather to 6 grandchildren. We have never really experienced the death of a family member like this, and I don't wish this pain and loss on anyone. We live in a world where tomorrow isn't promised and death can come to anyone at any moment, but this life is not the end because there is the promise of God for eternal life to come beyond death, beyond pain, and beyond suffering. We hope and trust that God worked in my father's heart to bring him to saving faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior over his life. It's an important reminder for all of us to consider whether we stand forgiven and redeemed before God, the Lord of all creation.

I created this GoFundMe at the suggestion of family and friends, with the hope that it might help us financially during this difficult time. I know everyone is going through different financial situations and might not be able to help financially, and my family understands. My father unfortunately didn't have life insurance, he didn't leave any inheritance, and never saved up any money in case of any emergency. So, with his death, we're left figuring out how to pay for all of the funeral costs, starting at zero. We depended on his income and my mom and I were his official caretakers, so with his death we lost both income sources immediately. If God places it on your hearts, we would immensely appreciate any amount of help that you can provide. This will help cover the mortuary costs, burial costs, funeral service costs, unknown costs for legal paperwork, and any unforeseen costs that might suddenly arise in this whole process. Please continue to keep my family in prayer as we seek God's guidance in every step of decision-making moving forward. Thank you once again for your time, and if you'd like to understand everything that happened in the 2 weeks in more detail, you can read it all down below.




Dear family, friends, and acquaintances:

First of all, I just wanted to honestly thank everyone who was praying for my father and my family during the 2 weeks that my father was hospitalized. This was the most difficult time for all of us, as the deterioration of his health was never what we expected to happen when we arrived the first day. We had come to the hospital so he could get a relatively straightforward procedure of placing in a chest catheter because his fistula was having constant issues and he wasn't able to receive his necessary dialysis treatments as a result. We arrived February 24th to get the surgery done and thankfully the procedure went well with no issues. He was going to stay a few days to make sure he received dialysis at the hospital. This would make up for lost treatments from earlier that week and then he would head home. Unexpectedly, he started having low blood pressure (BP) issues while receiving his dialysis treatments. So, he had to remain hospitalized longer while they figured out what the cause was and how to fix the issue preventing him from receiving full treatments. As days went by, my father slowly began to physically look better as we visited him. His body had become less swollen as excess water was being removed and things slowly seemed to be looking better as they managed to raise his BP with medications. Yet, he was still delicate and the doctors asked that he stay there until they felt he could remain stable going home. On March 2nd though, a new charge doctor came in for the new week of rotations and after he checked my father's chart he believed things seemed better. At this point the doctor was considering discharging him that same day after my mom fed him some lunch. At the time, we had just received a medical bed for my dad and were in the middle of rearranging our home so he would be much more comfortable sleeping downstairs rather than upstairs. We wanted to prevent any further health issues since we had already been waiting 5 weeks for another surgery to place his dislocated hip back in place. So, my mother told the doctor that we were unable to receive him at home until the next day. Up until this point, my father was still speaking with us, eating well, and just waiting and wanting to go home. Unfortunately, a few hours later that day, things changed and my father went Code Blue while still in the hospital. It was a very difficult day as my brother was there to visit and had to experience all of it while my mom had just left to come to pick me up so we could be with him the rest of the day as usual. Once my brother notified us, we rushed over quickly to figure out what had happened. That same day he was transferred from a regular room to an ICU room, stabilized with a defibrillator, and connected to a breathing tube as a precautionary measure while they figured out what happened and what they could do moving forward.

That night on March 2nd now in the ICU room, the ICU charge doctor explained to us that from bloodwork and chest x-rays they found that my father had way too much fluid build up in his lungs which could have triggered the series of events earlier that day. On top of that, he had some pulmonary artery issues that were partially causing his low BP issues. Since he was having low BP issues during dialysis treatments it was preventing him from getting full amounts of excess water removed from his body. So, the doctor decided that they were going to administer a modified dialysis treatment which would be longer sessions but at slower rates to try and avoid his BP from dropping too low while also causing less strain on his body. The plan proceeded Thursday, Friday, and Saturday without any problems as they managed to remove 10L of water during that time. Also, once they observed that my father had fully stabilized, they would then proceed with removing the breathing tube so he could speak with us again. Eventually they would also transfer him to another location to examine his heart and arteries to identify potential heart problems and fix what was needed. Yet, concerns began on March 6th as the doctor called us to arrive as soon as possible and arrange a family meeting. During that time, the doctor explained that they had to shock my father again overnight because he had another irregular heartbeat and things were not looking good moving forward as they were juggling many health issues simultaneously with fewer options available as time passed. Before coming in to the hospital, he was already diabetic, an amputee, receiving weekly wound care, waiting for surgery to fix a dislocated hip, and receiving dialysis. While in the hospital though, they primarily struggled with maintaining his kidneys, lungs, and heart issues back and forth apart from him being physically uncomfortable due to the dislocated hip and wounds on his behind. That day the doctor explained that they would continue with every treatment possible to get him better, but we should also begin to think about the possibility of end of life if fewer treatment options were to be available. The Lord was very gracious in all of this as He allowed us to have this Christian doctor who helped us think through all that was shared and what might come, not only from a medical perspective but also from a spiritual perspective. And as we shared our faith and concerns with him about moving forward, he was able to pray with us, for us, and help us prepare our hearts for any outcome. My father was then able to receive more dialysis and remove another 3L of water from his body. Later that night, my pastor was able to come in to visit and spend time with our family in prayer and in scripture. Thankfully, in the midst of this, my 3rd sister was able to fly in last minute on Monday, March 7th, to be here. In case anything happened. our mom and 3 of his children would be by his side. Monday was a similar repeat of news with another irregular heartbeat and shock to stabilize. He still managed to receive dialysis, removing another 3L of water, and continued to be monitored with some more medications. On Tuesday March 8th, the next charge doctor on rotations and other specialists came in and explained to us that my father's health was definitely getting worse. Cardiology said his heart was too weak at that point, he couldn't handle the exams previously discussed and he couldn't handle transferring hospital locations either. The ICU doctor explained to us that during his dialysis treatment that day his blood pressure dropped again and as they were raising it he went into cardiac arrest. They had to shock him again to stabilize and only managed to remove 1L of water from his body. They were hoping to remove him from the breathing tube, but without being able to give him full dialysis to remove the remaining liquid in the lungs it was too risky. They believed his body was finally rejecting the dialysis treatments at this point, but would try again if he looked better the next day. Finally, the Hospice/Palliative Care doctor spoke with us and helped us understand that my father would now remain in the ICU for as long as he had left, which could be minutes to days when transitioning to comfort measures. As a family, we decided to make finals decisions the next day with the hopes he could receive dialysis again and slowly get better. As difficult at his time in the ICU was, thankfully he was conscious, aware, and responsive. Although he couldn't verbally communicate and was frustrated due to the breathing tube, we were able to have conversations through facial expressions, gestures, and yes or no responses thanks to spending 24/7 with him for years. And during this time, my 2nd sister was able to reconnect with our father over video calls, while she figured out how to enter the country to be with us, due to unfair vaccine restrictions.

Unfortunately, early morning on March 9th my father went into another cardiac arrest, was no longer very responsive after being shocked to stabilize, was placed on maxed-out medications, and was most likely not going to last the night. We got the call and all rushed over quickly. Even my pastor was able to rush over quickly as well. Thankfully the Lord allowed all of us the time to gather together and pray with my pastor for my dad's salvation and for our family as well. Not long after that God-given time, my father's heart rate began to gradually slow down and we made the decision to transition to comfort measures instead. My father had been very strong during this whole ordeal and it even amazed the doctors that he was so constantly awake, aware, and conscious up until this point, when in comparison so many other patients wouldn't be. But as they began the steps for comfort measures, and before he could receive opioids to make things painless, his heart began to beat slower and slower until it finally stopped. So, my father passed away before 2 pm that day with all of us gathered together by his side and with a face full of peace. We were then given a few more hours to spend with him while we notified all our family. My oldest sister was, unfortunately, unable to communicate with my father during this ordeal, but hopes to make it to the funeral service.

I know this is a lot to read and possibly process, but my family sincerely appreciates everyone who prayed for us and cared for us during this time. Moving forward we hope that all of you can continue to pray that we seek God's guidance in every step of the decisions we must make and that God gives my family peace and comfort during this time of mourning. Once again, if God places it on your heart to help our family with the immediate financial burdens ahead, which we have absolutely zero means to cover on our own, the Franco family would greatly appreciate it!!! We hope to be able to have the funeral service sometime soon. Thank you once again for your time and willingness to assist us!!! And please feel free to share this fundraiser with as many people as possible!!!