We received the sad news from Dr Pankaj Rajmane of the Dilasa Palliative Care Centre that Shirley Fernandes passed away peacefully in her sleep at 1.30 am on 15 January 2025.
We thank the Lord that she lived for a further three weeks after her journey to Goa and we are so grateful that she had this time with her family in Goa. We are sure that the comfort of being in her motherland with her loved ones prolonged her life.
Shirley is 36 years old and is currently being cared for in Michael Sobell Hospice in Northwood. She wishes to return home to Goa to spend her final days surrounded by her friends and family.
Shirley and her two young children moved to England to join her husband, Domnic in 2022. Domnic had moved to England a few years prior, to work and raise the funds to set up a home for his family. They believed that England would provide opportunities for their children that were not available in their native home of Goa.
Tragedy struck in August 2024 when Shirley began to experience abdominal pain. In November 2024 she was diagnosed with an advanced incurable stomach cancer and is now too unwell for any form of treatment.
I am supporting Shirley’s wish to travel home to Goa as a fellow parishioner of St Bernadette’s Church, Hillingdon. We are also being supported by the Goan Welfare Society and Michael Sobell hospice who are helping us to co-ordinate this mission.
Shirley is a beautiful, strong woman and a loving, yet fiercely protective mother. She has touched the heart of everyone she has met on her latest sad journey.
Shirley does not have access to the amount of money that is needed to fund her journey home. The costs are so high due to the nature of her current symptoms and will cover the costs of her husband and children and a nurse to travel with her.
I am asking for any donation you can make to help with this journey. No donation is too small.
Please help Shirley to find some light in this time of darkness ….
Together we can get Shirley home x
Link to the fundraiser: https://gofund.me/ee9077f7
