|
Bruce Petillo
Former athlete's 'Fans' give aid to seriously ill kids
By Joyce Coronel, letters@catholicsun.org
November 6, 2008
Bruce Petillo is no stranger to adversity. While many a man may have grown bitter over lesser trials, the St. Mary Magdalene parishioner has instead risen to the challenge, embraced his Catholic faith and reached out to help others.
The world of sports beckoned early to Petillo, who grew up in California and attended Catholic schools. His family loved baseball and from the tender age of 8, Petillo dreamed of becoming a professional player.
As a public relations major at Pepperdine University, he played minor league baseball between semesters.
“It paid for most of my college expenses. I had experiences that most people would only dream of having,” Petillo said.
A catcher, Petillo was in the Philadelphia minor league system for three years, but spent much of it on the injured list after he tore his ACL during his first year. A brief comeback was followed by an elbow injury and at 25, Petillo retired from the league.
Undaunted by a promising baseball career cut short, Petillo said he nonetheless gained insight and skills.
“It teaches you about chasing dreams and the dedication it takes to achieve those goals,” he said of the experience. That drive toward a dream and love for sports would play a critical role in his future, though he could hardly have known what it held.
Married and working at a career in marketing, Petillo and his wife were still living in California in 2002 when their 3-year-old son B.J. was struck with a 25-minute long epileptic seizure. Paramedics whisked the boy to the emergency room where tests revealed erratic brain activity in the right temporal lobe.
Their doctor offered them two choices: medication or a “wait-and-see approach.” The young couple chose the latter and for 13 months, all seemed well.
Then a terrifying four-hour seizure struck B.J. “He was unconscious the whole time,” Petillo said, explaining that the concern was not so much the frequency of the seizures as it was the duration. Doctors put the boy on medication, but he still had three more episodes.
“I was self-employed with private insurance and we started accumulating significant medical bills. In two and a half years we maxed out all of our deductibles,” Petillo said. The young family accumulated $30,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses.
With the cost of living in California sky high and mounting medical bills, the Petillos sold their home to pay for B.J.’s care.
Then in 2005, tragedy struck when Petillo’s wife was 21 weeks pregnant. They had just found out the baby was a boy, but at a subsequent doctor visit, there was no fetal heartbeat and the couple suffered a stillbirth.
“The pain of losing that baby — it changes the way you look at things,” he said. He turned 35 that year and made a list of the things he wanted to accomplish between the ages of 35 to 40. At the top of the list was founding an organization to help the families of ill children.
“The pain associated with what we had gone through was just a fraction of what so many other families are enduring on a regular basis. We were able to pay off the medical bills and our son is off meds now. There’s a chance he won’t have more seizures,” Petillo said.
After much soul-searching, Petillo launched a non-profit organization called Fans Across America. The idea was to bring together sports fans with companies that offer discounts to sporting events, restaurants, theaters and the like.
The way Petillo sees things, it’s a win-win situation.
“If someone makes a $10 contribution, basically the price of two lattes, the discount they would get at Harkins would pay for their membership,” he said.
For the amount of potential savings, it’s an easy decision in these economic times as Americans try to stretch dollars. For a family of four, Fans members receive $10 off each Diamondbacks ticket — a $40 savings.
“Financial assistance to families [with seriously ill children] is not readily available,” Petillo said. “A family shouldn’t have to choose between being at their job and working and being with their child when they’re going through these treatments.”
Fans Across America bridges the gap these families face, providing assistance with rent, food, utilities, mortgage payments, and other expenses in an effort to prevent bankruptcy.
How does your work help you to grow in faith?
It strengthens it because you see these families are dealing with so much yet are so very grateful for any amount of support you can provide them. I pray for these families.
Your favorite quote?
“Esse quam videri,” which in Latin means “To be rather than to seem.” Be who God made you to be and don’t be ashamed of it. Thomas Merton’s “7 Story Mountain” has also been influential. Our faith isn’t a destination but it’s a continual journey.
--
Joyce Coronel/CATHOLIC SUN
Bruce Petillo, father of three and founder of Fans Across America, explains how God called him to help families with seriously ill children. Visit www.fansacrossamerica.org.
|
