Fijn with Malcom Maidwell at the 1991 Aruba Triathlon
PHILIPSBURG--Many people in St. Maarten, particularly in the education and sporting community, will fondly remember Francisco “Fijn” Lopez (76), who now lives in Aruba and sadly is a Parkinson’s disease sufferer.
His family are planning to give their father a “last race” at a running event, the Lotto Cambinda Bida Run in Santa Cruz, Aruba, on Sunday, November 2, as a sign of love and honour and to spread awareness of Parkinson’s disease. Organisers are fully behind the initiative and a Parkinson’s Awareness stand will be set up at the race.
Fijn has been living at Stichting SABA, Maris Stella location in Aruba since June of this year. At this moment he is in the final palliative stage of his illness, but is excited to be taking part in the event.
Fijn will be using a special racing wheelchair from Beyond Sports Limit Foundation Aruba, pushed by two cousins and accompanied by a nurse on a bike from Tri Bike Aruba. They are currently practising for the 10K run to be sure he is comfortable. Anyone in Aruba at the event is encouraged to cheer Fijn across the finish line.
Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Aruba, Fijn has been living with Parkinson’s disease for more than 26 years. He spent more than 35 years in St. Maarten, where he worked as a teacher at Milton Peters College (MPC) and as an electrician.
He mentored and inspired many young people and left behind a trail of love and positivity. In addition to his work, he was an avid sportsman, stood at the foundation of many sports events, and spearheaded numerous awareness campaigns around health and sports on the island.
Short in stature but big in heart and spirit, he was once a strong and passionate athlete who conquered marathons and triathlons around the world, from the New York Marathon to the Aruba International Triathlon, the Puerto Rico Triathlon, the Miami FL Run, and the St. Maarten Around the Island Relay Race, where he had a hand in organising and coordinating.
Fijn’s story is both remarkable and painful. After Hurricane Luis, his classroom was rebuilt using toxic glue. Shortly after returning to that classroom at MPC, where the air was filled with fumes and particles, the first symptoms of Parkinson’s began to appear. He was 48 years old at the time. The classroom was subsequently closed down by the Government in 1998.
He became one of the first people in the Caribbean to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery. This procedure granted him many years of improved health and independence. Although Parkinson’s drastically changed his life, he always remained positive and actively involved in his community. In 2017, he returned to his birthplace, Aruba.
“We plan to give him the joy of running this race while pushing him in a specially designed wheelchair decorated with his sports photos. It would be wonderful to expand this initiative and collect donations – something fully aligned with what he used to do himself,” said his eldest daughter Nathalia.
“The idea is to organise this in collaboration with IBiSA, possibly through an online crowdfunding platform and by selling Parkinson’s Awareness T-shirts featuring a photo of Fijn and logos from health organizations such as SABA, Respaldo, and HOH (these are institutions that have been involved in his care). Any proceeds will be donated to SABA.
“My main goal is to raise awareness. That’s why we aim to broaden this initiative, in collaboration with IBiSA and the media. We want to shed light on Parkinson’s disease, the importance of mental health, neuropsychiatric conditions, and the amount of care involved. We want to show the impact this illness can have, and that it can be both hereditary and caused by exposure to toxic substances as was the case for Fijn.”
Nathalia added that Fijn has to sleep on a mattress on the floor because he keeps falling out of bed. The plan is to raise funds to buy a special hospital bed that can be lowered and raised, lowered all the way to the floor for sleeping, and raised to a sitting position to care for him. This type of bed is not available in Aruba. After Fijn passes it will be donated to health organisation SABA.
The title of the Go Fund Me page is “Donate to Better and Better for Mr. Fijn Lopez’ Race against Parkinson’s,” organised by Nathalia Lopez:
Funds are also being raised by selling T-shirts, Run for Parkinson’s and with Fijn’s likeness on the front “Better and Better every day.”
