Submitted by Armando Aguilar, Grand Knight and Peter Marciano, Faith Director

Back in July of this year, we were alerted by a pediatric nurse, Karen Dean, that the family of one of her young patients from Hull was in need of some funding and to see if we could help with the purchase of a ramp van for their three-year-old boy. So, working with Karen and the parents of Finian Medeiros (Jamis and Cheryl), the process of applying for the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund for Finian began.

**RAMPING UP.** The Hull Knights of Columbus Council 4865 presented the family of three-year-old Finian Medeiros with a check for $8,000 from the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund to help pay for a ramp and van to help Finian, who has mobility challenges due to several health conditions. With Finian and his parents, Jamis and Cheryl, are Armando Aguilar, Grand Knight and Peter Marciano, Faith Director. [Skip Tull photo]

Finian was born with a congenital heart defect, hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He required multiple surgeries for survival. Due to a complication in one surgery, he is on a ventilator around the clock. He also suffers from hypotonia (low tone muscles) and is unable to stand or walk. A recent additional issue, Finian now has hyperuricemia (high uric acid, which causes pain to joints, especially legs and ankles). He is expected to require mobility devices for the foreseeable future. It is difficult for his support team to move him around, since he is growing and is always connected to various medical equipment needed for all his conditions.

These funds thankfully become available due to the yearly Tootsie Roll drives that our local and state K of C groups run each year. We are happy to say that the residents of Hull and neighboring towns always and generously support the charity. We thank all our contributors!

We often kick this off in Hull at our Endless Summer event. Every council in Massachusetts delivers the funds from the collection to our state office to put into a state fund. From there, our state K of C funding committee reviews the many applications and decides on most-needed support.

We [the authors – Hull’s grand knight and faith director] met with the family to finalize the application and process to submit to our state fund committee early December.

The request of $8,000 for Finian’s van with ramp was quickly nominated for one of the awards just before Christmas. Finian and his parents are living with his grandmother in Hull and his father is working two jobs to help pay the expenses of the professional help needed to support Finian’s precious life.

The Hull Knights of Columbus Council 4865 is so proud that we have had the opportunity to support Finian and the Medieros family to pay a portion of the cost for their beautiful van and ramp. We hope it makes Finian’s daily events a little easier for him and his loving supportive family. Having the chance to meet them, we learned their days are busy ones with doctor appointments, hospital visits, therapy, and even participating in preschool. He’s a strong little boy!

May God Bless Finian, his family, doctors, nurses, teachers, and all support teams!

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