We often hear about the St. John's community and how people can rally around you in times of difficulty. Unfortunately, I experienced that myself.
I won't bore you all with the details but suffice to say that on April 28, my first grandchild, a boy, Theodore Lucca was delivered by c-section. He was only three weeks early, so everyone thought it would be fine. Unfortunately, it wasn't. He had under-developed lungs and had difficulty breathing on his own.
Two days later, on Sunday, April 30, little Theo passed away comfortably in his mother's and father's arms. As you can imagine, this has devastated us, especially my son and his wife. And I'm not looking for sympathy here. I want to tell you how St. John's came through for us.
I'm sure many of you know Rino at St. John's. He heard about this from a good friend of mine who used to work with him at St. John's. Rino arranged for a Mass to be said in my grandson's memory just this morning at 8:00 AM at St. Thomas More on campus. My wife and I drove down and we were pleasantly surprised to see Rino there, along with other friends of ours from basketball games. Father Rock said the Mass and had some wonderful things to say about my grandson and us being there. It was a very moving and emotional Mass. And I will forever be grateful to the St. John's community, specifically Rino, for being there for us at this time.
If any of you have children or grandchildren, the very next time you see them, even if it is later today, give them a hug and tell them how much you love them. No matter how old they are; teenagers, young adults; and no matter how embarrassed that may feel, do it. Because despite our passion for St. John's basketball, and our opinions and disagreements, family is what really matters.
I won't bore you all with the details but suffice to say that on April 28, my first grandchild, a boy, Theodore Lucca was delivered by c-section. He was only three weeks early, so everyone thought it would be fine. Unfortunately, it wasn't. He had under-developed lungs and had difficulty breathing on his own.
Two days later, on Sunday, April 30, little Theo passed away comfortably in his mother's and father's arms. As you can imagine, this has devastated us, especially my son and his wife. And I'm not looking for sympathy here. I want to tell you how St. John's came through for us.
I'm sure many of you know Rino at St. John's. He heard about this from a good friend of mine who used to work with him at St. John's. Rino arranged for a Mass to be said in my grandson's memory just this morning at 8:00 AM at St. Thomas More on campus. My wife and I drove down and we were pleasantly surprised to see Rino there, along with other friends of ours from basketball games. Father Rock said the Mass and had some wonderful things to say about my grandson and us being there. It was a very moving and emotional Mass. And I will forever be grateful to the St. John's community, specifically Rino, for being there for us at this time.
If any of you have children or grandchildren, the very next time you see them, even if it is later today, give them a hug and tell them how much you love them. No matter how old they are; teenagers, young adults; and no matter how embarrassed that may feel, do it. Because despite our passion for St. John's basketball, and our opinions and disagreements, family is what really matters.
