Donate to help cover the cost of Pedro’s life-saving surgery: LifeFunder
(LifeSiteNews) — A paraplegic man in Brazil is in need of assistance to help cover the cost of a complex surgery that saved his life from the complications of his lower body paralysis.
Pedro Santos da Silva became paraplegic after suffering a motorcycle accident in 2020 at the age of 20, and thereafter permanently came into the care of the Child Jesus Community in Petropolis, Brazil, founded by Tonio de Mello, a Catholic layman. His community cares for disabled children and adults, many of whom were harmed by botched abortions.
Da Silva’s surgeon, Dr. Mario Soares Jr., has explained that due to the prolonged time spent sitting on a wheelchair after his accident, da Silva developed wounds which led to the exposure of his bone, which resulted in turn in osteomyelitis, involving infection of the bone. Surgery was required to remove all infected and necrotic bone, and then reconstruction of the bone and soft tissue was needed.
Da Silva is now recovering from a successful surgery, but De Mello must now repay the money borrowed to cover its cost, amounting to R$ 82,000 (about $15,000).
Donate to help cover the cost of Pedro’s life-saving surgery
Earlier this year, De Mello shared with EWTN the story of how he founded his Child Jesus community, explaining that it all began when he visited a local hospital to organize a party for the disabled children there.
“I opened the door and a boy said, ‘Do you want to be my father?’ I immediately felt that God was speaking to me, [telling me] to take care of them,” said De Mello.
He soon served as the children’s religion teacher, teaching them his own specially designed curriculum. The desire for fatherhood then began to “stir deep in his heart.”
“One night I went to the institution to help put the children to sleep. I witnessed how mistreated they were by the hospital staff. I was so angry, I prayed and told God, ‘I no longer want to follow you, because you are allowing this to happen,’” said De Mello.
“At this moment, I felt a voice in my heart telling me to donate my life to these children.”
He then consulted a local bishop about his new sense of mission, and was told to pray about it for two years.
After those years had passed, De Mello said, “I still felt it was my calling. With the help of some young people, I was given permission to take care of some of the children. I rented a two-bedroom small house, and adopted 3 of the children. I wanted to form a family… and be a father like St. Joseph.”
Eventually, the hospital closed, and De Mello adopted dozens more children, bringing the total to 46 children. Now, said De Mello, his community has expanded to involve 700 caretakers worldwide, helping to take care of people with disabilities, who have been abandoned, victimized, or survived abortion. His local Jesus Menino community is like a “small town,” and includes a church and a school.
“They taught me the true meaning of life,” De Mello said of the children. “I always say that in their abandonment, God found me and I found humanity in today’s world.”