The Lupercio Family

15 years ago Martin Lupercio began having heart failure. After a successful bypass surgery, Martin returned to his daily life in Sacramento, CA where he lived with his family. This past August Martin’s heart began to fail again and he was rushed from a hospital in Sacramento to Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara — the closest hospital with the equipment he needed.

Martin’s wife, Maria Elena, and his two daughters, Paola and Denise, followed him to Santa Clara, where they learned his recovery would be a long and difficult journey. Because Martin and Maria Elena only speak Spanish, his daughters realized they needed to find somewhere close to the hospital to stay in order to translate forms and Martin’s medical history to his doctors. Hospital social workers connected the Lupercios to JW House, where they were relieved to stay just steps away from their father.

The House’s backyard patio became an office for Paola and Denise, who both had to continue working full-time. “Bills kept coming and we needed to go back to work. Life doesn’t stop, even in an emergency,” shares Paola. “Finding a space where we could be close to our father in case of an emergency while still being able to work was a miracle. Volunteers would even bring us snacks on the patio.”

Not realizing they would be away from home for several weeks, the Lupercios had only brought four outfits each to Santa Clara. They were relieved to find out about JW House’s laundry services, which allowed them to alternate between clothes. “Something so small like laundry is a service we never would have thought about, but it made a big difference,” explains the family.

After 21 days at JW House and even longer in the hospital, Martin regained enough strength to be released and the Lupercio family finally returned home. Paola says that she will “...never forget how welcome we felt. Our family was far away, so JW House became our family,”