Michael Illiano is trying to pay it forward after all the help he and his wife, Nu, received when their daughter, Francesca, passed away at only 5 months old in January.
Francesca was born “extremely premature” at only 25 weeks, which qualified her as a micro-preemie and one of Women & Infants’ smallest babies at just 380 grams. Francesca received more than a dozen blood and platelets transfusions, and the Illiano family is looking to give back for the five precious months they received with their daughter.
Shortly after Francesca passed away, the family raised about $10,000 for the March of Dimes through a walk, but that was only the beginning of honoring her memory.
The family has joined forces with the Knights of Columbus, who are sponsoring a blood drive at St. Thomas Church at 65 Fruit Hill Ave. in Providence this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church basement. Those interested in donating must bring a driver’s license or another form of identification, and can schedule appointments at ribc.org/drives with the sponsor code 0593. Walk-ins are also welcome.
“Out of the grief and the promise to our daughter that we will keep her memory alive and people won’t forget her, basically we decided, me and my wife, to work very hard to keep that name, Francesca, alive,” Illiano said during a phone interview on Monday. “We wanted to do a blood drive because she did get so much blood and we wanted to do it around her birthday, which was Aug. 21.”
The blood drive will feature a reading circle for children while parents donate blood and enjoy refreshments including pizza strips, calzones and more. However, one feature will differentiate the drive from others of its kind.
The area will resemble the planet Tatooine or the Death Star more than it does a church basement. Illiano, a diehard “Star Wars” fan, said there will be characters from, and books about, the popular franchise floating around the blood drive. Author and Providence resident Ryder Windham – who has written more than 60 “Star Wars” comics, novels and reference books – will be in attendance.
Illiano’s fascination with “Star Wars” was also on display in full force at his wedding. He and his wife were married at Disney World, and they made one of their first big compromises as a married couple. When meeting with the planner, he mentioned that he wanted his wedding officiated by Darth Vader.
While he conceded on that front, there are pictures of him and his wife tearing up the dance floor surrounded by Vader himself and some stormtroopers. They weren’t at the ceremony, but he said “they were all over the place” at the reception.
Now, Illiano wants to bring that passion to the table in an effort to make the blood drive as massive as it could be.
“Me and my wife are a little crazy and we wanted to make it the biggest blood drive we could possibly make it,” Illiano said with a laugh. “[Windham] has a following himself. At last check we’ve got about a dozen people that have donated blood already and as of [Monday] there was about 30 appointments made for Sunday.”
Illiano said that he and his wife and very appreciative of the support they’ve received all along from the community, and he urged those interested to come down to St. Thomas on Sunday. After they donate blood, they may be lucky enough to meet a Wookiee and have a cookie.
“It’s heartwarming,” Illiano said. “You look for the support from people, you need the support from people, you look for stuff to keep you going. That’s something that keeps you going and you want to make a difference.”
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