Just Call On Me Brother....When You Need a Hand

A couple of years back one of my son's youth hockey teammates and his family were going through a rough time.  Brandon, or Brando as we called him was a sophomore at San Diego State University.  This was his second year playing for the Aztecs ACHA club team.









His dad, Robert Nevarez, was a genuine sweetheart of a man.   He and his wife, Barb were parents to Brando and his younger twin brothers,  Bryan and Brindan.  Yes Brandon's younger brother was named Brindan. The only way I could tell the twins apart was by how they parted their hair.  I used to purposefully mix them up to mess with them.  They called me Steeb.

The recession hit the Nevarezes hard.  Robert was a building contractor.  Sadly, around this time he was in the hospital for a hernia surgery and while in the operating room he suffered a stroke.

#18 Brando

Things went from bad to worse and Robert ended up in a coma.  The doctors said he was basically brain dead, would probably never wake up and if he did he would be a vegetable.  The family was within days of moving him to a facility where the plug was to be pulled.

And then a miracle happened.  He woke up. His recovery was nothing short of stupendous.  Robert never fully recovered, but he functioned. He got around. He was able to be with his family and live his life.  He got to watch Brandon play hockey for the next few years at State and watch the twins grow up into wonderful young men.

Brindan or Bryan? I have no idea

By the way, at this time I did a crowdfunding effort to raise money for Brando to be able to pay the team dues and continue with his hockey career.  Many readers of this blog chipped in and helped.

Well, fast forward to today.  I have sad news to report and a plea for some help for the family.  Robert had a heart attack within the past month and has been in the hospital. He fell back into a coma and this time he did not make it.  Sadly, he passed away last week.

I am including a link to the funding website should you want to help the family with their expenses.  It would be greatly appreciated.  The funeral is this Friday.

Thank you for reading this.  Thank you for any support you can provide.