Our History

Good morning, everyone

We’d like to start by expressing our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who, in your own way, have been there for us all this time. He felt truly welcomed and loved by everyone.

We would like to extend our special thanks to Dr. Amâncio, Dr. Hallim, and Dr. Nasjla, as well as the nurses, who worked tirelessly with him and took such good care of our little boy.

This is the saddest moment of our lives; losing a child is unnatural, and at this age, even more so.

But we don’t want to talk about sad things; we want to talk about Felipe. And to talk about him, we have to talk about life, about struggle, about learning, about living life to the fullest, and about seeking out the good things life has to offer as we mature and grow when we face difficulties with courage and a positive attitude!!!! From a boy, he became a giant, leaving us with many precious lessons.

Looking back on his life, he wasn’t an easy kid. He was often a little mischievous, stubborn, and relentless in his demands. Once he realized he could get almost anything he wanted with his charm, there was no stopping him. It was hard to get into an argument with him without laughing afterward. I joke that he got his flaws from his mom and his charm from his dad.

But not only did he inherit those traits, he also passed many of them on to his siblings.

Sitting next to him was always like sitting next to an interesting and intelligent person. It was always a pleasure to talk with him. His charm, his smile, and his wry, sidelong glance were all part of who he was. His strength, joy, and lightheartedness will always be remembered in Nandão’s smiles.

When the four brothers—Nando, Felipe, Dudu, and João—were together, it was fantastic, magical!!! Such infectious energy!!!

It's actually kind of funny—we get the feeling that the little ones have inherited that charm from him.

He grew up and developed a few “preferences”: sports, friends, music, lively conversation, Ibiúna—ah, Ibiúna… School was so-so; he didn’t study much, but he used his head and, once again, his charm, so he had little trouble moving up a grade… How fun it was!!! He loved to ramble on about things. He always had his own firm theory on the matter.

Then he became a man, and we realized how much he had matured and turned the fight in his favor.

He has grown from that crafty little boy into a man with unprecedented maturity and a sense of reality.

We saw him many times offering advice and comforting people throughout their struggle. He taught those around him a great deal, showing them ways to make sense of what was happening, and found his own path to spiritual growth. He offered a life lesson to many who were there, feeling lost and unable to understand why all of this was happening.

As parents, I’d say we really encouraged him to keep looking ahead. We were often moved when we saw that, in a way, we had taught our little fighter never to give up. He’d get angry when faced with adversity, but he’d take a deep breath and say, “Let’s keep going!!!”

I also want to thank Roberto for the role he played in our son’s life, sharing with us the responsibility of supporting him during the toughest times.

And he just kept getting better and better, surprising us and leaving us both amazed and proud. Even when he went through some tough times, he was the guy his friends liked to talk to, to lean on… We were impressed when Marcelo, his cousin and best friend, got a tattoo of an anchor; that anchor represented Felipe in his life, his safe haven.

We don't know if Porto is really that safe, because those guys got into a lot of trouble, too!

But perhaps one of his most striking qualities was his charisma. It was hard not to want to be around him.

His friends, his girlfriends, and the people who worked on his treatments were always drawn into his orbit, forming a vast network.

This is our boy, our son, our friend, our companion, and our great buddy. A guy who has always fought for life, often facing great difficulties, but who has never stopped looking on the bright side, never stopped seeing how colorful life is!!!

He is a great example to us all: to live life to the fullest, not to dwell on what we can’t do, but to focus only on what we can do. We will miss him dearly, but he also leaves us with a commitment to honor his memory!!!

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST, ALWAYS FIGHT, BUT ABOVE ALL, LIVE IT!!!

Thank you all so much…

(Letter read at the seventh-day Mass by Felipe’s parents)