Letter: Woman thanks Fall River woman for thinking of her in face of tragedy

Diane Ferreira shared a story on social media on how selfless a Fall River woman was in the face of tragedy.

“I want to share a beautiful but sad story. About a month ago, one of my Facebook friends had a horrible tragedy happen in her family. The loss of her husband unexpectedly. I remember reading and feeling so heartbroken for her. I commented giving my condolences 🙏 and went to bed.”

“The next morning, I was making coffee and she called me through messenger. I just stood there, just looking at my phone wondering why she was calling me. We have never met. Just commented on each other’s pages about children or hairdos or whatever, but I knew I had to answer. When I did, it was Charity (Pontes) sounding very distraught as you can imagine asking me if I still needed a lung transplant. I said yes and she said I want to donate Kyle’s lungs to you 😭💔❤️. I was speechless and broke down crying. For her to think of me and want to give me the gift of life in the middle of her whole world falling apart. I still to this day have NO words big enough to say thank you to her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a match. She was so heartbroken he wasn’t a match, but I know he went on to save other’s lives.”

“Please PRAY for this beautiful woman and her children and RIP Kyle. Fly high with the angels 😇 🙏 ❤️.”

Diane told Fall River Reporter that she has a genetic disease which involves her liver and lungs.

“My liver doesn’t produce a protein which protect the lungs and liver. There are different forms of it. Some people are just carriers. It was thought to be very rare, but now more and more people are being diagnosed with it. It presents like emphysema. It’s called Alpha one deficiency. I only have 20% lung function left unfortunately but now since getting diagnosed, I do a weekly infusion of the protein to keep me stable. I was a personal trainer for over 25 years, and I believe that’s what’s saving my life. I’m on the transplant list at Massachusetts General Hospital. I got a call for a transplant on the 6th of July and after hours at the hospital they discovered the lungs weren’t good for a transplant (called a dry run). I’m very confident in my team at MGH. They are the best in the world.”

Diane’s message to the public is to donate blood (that is how she gets the protein she needs) and become an organ donor.

Kyle Pontes’ Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday July 29th from 1-5 p.m. at the Italian Progressive Club on Slade Street.