Domingos Fraga has suffered unspeakable loss. On Friday, May 6, his wife, Liz, despite a healthy pregnancy, died at the age of 26 during an emergency C-section. Five days later, their newborn daughter, Juliet, passed away. While details remain scarce, Fraga says the baby died from “taking in too much blood at birth.” Then, on May 16, the evening of Liz and Juliet’s wake, the Milford, Massachusetts, widower received more terrible news: His beloved sister Melinda had succumbed to cervical cancer at 42.
But despite his grief, Fraga is grateful for the time he had with his little girl. “I got to hold her and read to her every night,” Fraga told WCVB about his baby on Wednesday, May 18. “They were meant to be together. Liz wanted to hold her.”
“It goes from being mad to being numb, to just bawling every night,” the quality control inspector told WCVB.
Fraga opened up to Us Weekly about his love for Liz. “I miss the way her smile lit up the room, her laugh, her amazing attitude toward life,” he told Us. “I miss her banter, the way she would curl up in my arms. I miss the smell of her, and the way she would snore and the fact that she hated when anyone touched her feet.”
He continued: “We could never stay mad at each other. I miss just hearing her say I love you. There’s not one part I miss … I miss everything about her. She was amazing and she was my everything.”
Family friend Tiago Daniel Pereira set up a GoFundMe page for Fraga. “He would never ask for money, and would be more inclined to give you money rather than take any,” Daniel wrote. “But he’s not asking, we are. He’s already emotionally drowning with all this bad news and the last thing we would want for him is to drown in debt. Whatever you could donate would be huge in helping Domingos with the funeral expenses or medical bills.”
On May 7 — one day after Liz died — Fraga posted a photo of himself and Liz on their wedding day. “Liz, juliet is beautiful and everyday i remind her that you are here with her,” he wrote. “i will tell her everyday i get with her how much u loved her and how excited u were u were going to meet her.”
Pereira tells Us that Fraga is determined to remain positive for his niece and nephew, who just lost their mother. “Domingos is trying to come to terms with everything that is happening,” says Pereira. “He’s a mixed bag of emotions.”
