This week a dear client and family friend lost her husband Jonathan to the covid-19 virus. Their story is intertwined with the deep soulful love they shared and painful heartache.
If you are wondering how your love support others during the cover-19 pandemic, I’ve got some helpful links below.
Jonathan holding Braedyn and Katie holding Penelope
2019 photo credit: Katie Coelho from the Journey For Braedyn’s Facebook Page
I love this family. They have overcome great obstacles together and have weathered the biggest scariest storms together.
Somehow, though physically separated by his 20 days in a hospital bed with only a daily FaceTime call to connect them through their senses of sight and sound, they managed to embrace each other with love from a distance within the unforeseen circumstances they suddenly found themselves living in. Their strong love bond proved to keep their hearts connected energetically so that they could be together every second of every day, being each other’s strength even though they were unable to be together physically.
Miracle Moments
Listen below to the candid conversation I had with Katie on my Angels Don’t Lie podcast about their son Braedyn and the miracle of love they experienced!
Showing up with love, each day Katie or a family member would post an update on social media of Jonathan’s condition. The post would reach thousands of people who would stop what they were doing to read every word and together, in love, pray alongside the ever growing list of virtual strangers. Every time I logged on to social media I was met with a beautiful photo, representing a memory of their life together. I saw love.
Click here to follow Katie’s facebook post on the Journey For Braedyn page.
I prayed.
I asked for a miracle.
I sat in silence asking God, could he spare this young father?
I was met with the answer I didn’t like. An answer that left me longing for a deeper truth. Deep down I know Divine truth. My soul, like all souls, knows the answers. Though we may not want to look at the truth straight on for fear of a reality we don’t want, we miss the opportunity of seeing past that fear point and witnessing the vastness of love that exists both in and beyond the fear. At times I question the truth I see, it’s painful when it involves things I don’t like, such as death, illness, and other painful life altering events. The truth of the matter is, I can do hard things, even if I don’t like the possible outcome and how the truth may alter life as we currently experience it, and then, “What will the new change look like? Will I/you/they/we be ok?
Love is infinite
What I have found on the other side of every painful experience I’ve lived through and witnessed is love. Love was the standing force that held everyone present at my uncles funeral this past January. The love for our departed family member was palpable, in the memories we recalled and shared of our cherished moments spent with him in this life and for each other as we shared in our grief at his passing. Our love for him remains. His love remains with us. Love is what is showering and filling me with the energy to write this letter to you today.
Jonathan leaving and crossing through the veil to Heaven is beyond sad, it’s tragic. The fact that he won’t be here in the physical form to watch his children grow, to hug and hold his wife, make my heart feel like it’s torn apart.
Love holds me, allowing me to deliver the Divine truth that his soul is the same as it was when he was alive, death does not change that. His love can still be felt and known to all who loved him, it’s in the ethers of the air, in the smiles of his children, in the memories his wife holds within her heart and the ones his loved ones hold in theirs.
Love is infinite, with no ending, therefore Jonathan is part of that flow. You are as well, we all are. Our experiences don’t define us, rather our love does.
Support others during the Covid-19 pandemic
How you can help with your love:
If you have had the pleasure of knowing the Coelho family, you know that they are some of the kindest, hardest working people you will ever meet. If you don’t know their story, here is a quick backstory as to why they are one of the most incredible families ever.
Jonathan is the sole provider and works tirelessly to care for his wife Katie and their two kids, Braedyn and Penelope. Katie is a wonderful stay at home mom who has spent countless hours caring for Braedyn who has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and their sweet baby girl, Penelope. You can find more about their journey as a family on their Facebook page, Journey for Braedyn .
Love with helping to Feeding others
The Danbury High School baseball team wanted to help take care of those on the front lines of the coronavirus, not only by social distancing and staying home but also by coming together to both support our local restaurants, doctors, nurses and other personnel at Danbury Hospital. They are working hard to make sure everyone can get through these trying times and what better way to help them accomplish that then to keep their energy up, and most importantly – boost morale. By ordering food (any cuisine) we’ll help local restaurants’ bottom line, Restaurants will prepare the food and drop it off at the hospital – and we’ll help fund this important task!
The “meals” noted refer to lunch, dinner and third shift. If you choose to go the way of treats, simply call me and I’ll add you to the schedule for deliveries on the day that works best. Susan M. Kania
Foundations of Nuvance Health (203) 739-7354 / M (203) 240-8938
No one should go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. With school closures, job disruptions, and health risks, millions of Americans will turn to food banks for much-needed support. They can’t do it alone and you can help.
Obviously we are in an unprecedented moment. Large numbers are suddenly out of work homeschooling children and unable to meet the demands for basic needs such as food. The purpose of this GO FUND ME is support families who were hit the hardest financially by COVID-19. Our aim is to act as a bridge between folks who are in immediate need of food and folks who are able to give a little to help them.
Have some fun supporting the cause with the Dork It Out Challenge!
Save The Children
Coronavirus—the biggest global health crisis of our lifetime—threatens children in every way.
COVID-19 has already left many children without caregivers, out of school and exposed to violence and exploitation.
Your support today can help children in unsafe households, help protect and prepare doctors and health clinics in refugee camps and help support distance learning in the face of school closures.
WCK is working across America to safely distribute individually packaged, fresh meals in communities that need support – for children and families to pick up and take home, as well as delivery to seniors who cannot venture outside. WCK is now active in dozens of cities providing nearly 200,000 fresh meals every day.
Traditional safety nets like school feeding programs, city services, and food banks are struggling to meet basic needs. Seniors, who are isolated for their safety, are unable to access meal services. Meanwhile, the country’s hospital workers are more stretched than ever before.
WCK is also now activating restaurants to help meet this demand by providing jobs for their staff and meals for those in need. #ChefsForAmerica is making a key connection between people who need meals and restaurant workers and drivers who need to earn a living.
Love with gifting your Blood
In coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Red Cross is seeking people who are fully recovered from the new coronavirus to sign up to donate plasma to help current COVID-19 patients. Patients who have fully recovered following a COVID-19 diagnosis may have antibodies in their plasma that can help those with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections.
