Please help the O’Healy da Silva Family

Hello friends of the da Silva Family,

Colleen, Lucas, Gabe and Abilio need your help. Abilio is currently on Hospice and has a limited life ahead. The family has some immediate needs and appreciate your understanding that this is an important way for them to reach out to friends and family and to keep you updated. We are creating this GoFundMe to help with a mountain of medical costs, including co-pays, deductibles and insurance premiums. There are also caregiver expenses and eventual final costs. People ask about survivor benefits, Abilio did not work enough quarters to qualify for Social Security survivor benefits and he has limited life insurance. With his passing his disability income will end. Many friends want to help with meals, which is appreciated, but the freezer is full and Abilio has special dietary issues. As you can imagine, having visitors is not always convenient. A better option is to make an iPhone video sending thoughts, prayers and memories. More details about this option to come.

What you may or may not know: Colleen and Abilio met in Portugal back in 1999 when Colleen was serving as a missionary with IFES, the international umbrella organization over Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Abilio was working as an electrical engineer and was a graduate of Grupo Biblico Universitario (GBU), the Portuguese Christian student group Colleen was working with. Luckily for Colleen, Abilio was fluent in English. Colleen was learning Portuguese at universities in Coimbra and Lisbon while working with Portuguese and international students.

Abilio and Colleen eventually fell in love, got married in 2002, and planned to spend the rest of their lives living in Portugal, serving together in ministry. In 2004, Lucas arrived with severe chromosomal abnormalities and a diagnosis of being “incompatible with life”, but he defied medical predictions that he would not live beyond a few months or a year at most. In 2005, during a visit to California, Lucas’ health took a turn for the worse and doctors advised that he not return to Portugal as they did not have the resources needed for him to survive. Abilio and Colleen suddenly had to plan a future together in California. They settled in the Bay Area and Abilio found a job as an electrical engineer in San Francisco. Colleen stayed home to care for Lucas. Lucas is now an amazing 19 year old and has a happy and healthy younger brother, Gabriel, who arrived in 2008.

In 2010 Abilio developed an extreme headache, and had bleeding in his brain stemming from a slow-growing brain tumor called oligodendroglioma. While the tumor was operable, it wasn’t possible to remove all of it due to its location against his motor strip. After 2 surgeries and chemotherapy to remove most of the tumor, he was unable to return to work and went on permanent disability. Until recently, surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation kept the tumor relatively stable. With nursing care for Lucas, Colleen was able to get a job she loves at nearby Saint Mary’s College.

Last year Abilio was weakened by the flu and never fully recovered his strength. In May, 2023, he fell and suffered a compression fracture and was hospitalized and then moved to a rehab facility where he received physical and occupational therapy. Abilio returned home to recover and regain his strength with a plan to resume Chemotherapy. However, a recent MRI showed that his tumor has doubled in size and the previous surgeries and treatments have severely damaged his brain. He is now too weak for chemotherapy or other treatment. This week he entered hospice care with the goal of keeping him comfortable at home.

Colleen and Abilio ask for your prayers, and if you feel led to contribute to this GoFundMe account (link below), this becomes a tangible way to show your love and care. We all feel blessed to have had the past 13 years with Abilio. He has been a wonderful husband, father and follower of Christ.

Thank you in advance for your prayers, love, and support.