Community support has given Dion and Lexy Correia hope, but their fight is far from over.

Unemployed and with only basic insurance, the couple launched a public appeal after Mr Correia was told he had to undergo expensive emergency surgery here and in the United States for a painful and dangerous gallstone blockage.

The funds raised weren’t enough to cover their bills and won’t be sufficient to pay the $20,000 co-pay for the surgery the 53-year-old needs to remove the stent doctors placed in his body in January.

Still, he and his wife are grateful for the kindness they have received and for all that Mr Correia has overcome since he woke up one morning at the beginning of the year, inexplicably jaundiced and in pain. Costly tests eventually revealed that gallstones blocking his bile duct were the problem.

“I'm a healthy person; what happened was a fluke. I try my best to be positive, to think in a positive way rather than being negative. Despite not having employment as yet, I am optimistic about having life, having my life to live and enjoy,” he said.

“I'm optimistic about having work and being able to not have to worry about how bills are going to be paid.”

He was sent to Lahey Hospital after doctors here were unable to do the operation. A medical team at the clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, removed two gallstones and discovered the underlying issue — unlike most people, Mr Correia has a curved duct.

Back in Bermuda, he faced another unexpected setback. At King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was taken because he was barely able to move or function because of severe pain, doctors discovered that his gallbladder was inflamed. He was put on medication to reduce the inflammation, and later underwent surgery to have it removed.

The couple, who have raised $35,200 of their goal of $58,000 through a GoFundMe page created on their behalf, have been given a temporary fundraising licence, #T2133.

“I'm very thankful for those who have given. It’s incredible the amount of people that I don’t know. It’s amazing when people come together to help out,” Mr Correia said. “Especially in today's times, things are rough and pockets are tight for everyone. So that people have given, I'm overwhelmed. We never expected us to be in the position that we're in, but this is life and these are the things we have to deal with. The love that people are sharing has been beyond what I expected.”

His illness compounded the financial hardship he and his wife were already facing. The couple have been without permanent jobs since 2023, when the lingering effects of the pandemic forced them to close their art supply store, DNA Creative.

Mr Correia refused to dwell on their misfortune.

“Everybody goes through a journey. I feel like at this point in life you have to not worry about the noise around you. It's about focusing on yourself and being a kind and loving person,” he said.

“We're given lessons to be learnt. We don't know what they are. Sometimes these things happen to slow you down, to allow you to regenerate and think about life in general.”

The experience has brought back memories of another hospital stay 36 years ago.

“Why I was in hospital during that time had to do more with me wanting to take my life versus me wanting to have my life saved. So you know, it puts a whole different perspective on things. And when I look back during my time that I was laid up in hospital — when I look back at that journey of 30-plus years, from that point of not wanting to exist to allowing myself to exist and enjoy life as much as I could, I've accomplished a lot, done a lot, learnt a lot,” said Mr Correia, who frequently struggled to contain his emotions during our interview.

“There's so many things that have happened in between that time that I never really gave myself time to consider and understand.”

Though it’s a lot to process, he remains focused on staying positive — even when there’s little left for him and his wife to cut back on. The goal now is to improve his health and find work so they can move past their struggles and rebuild their lives.

“I can’t say we are making changes to our lifestyle because there isn't much that we really do outside of meditation and just trying to be positive,” he said.

“We don't have a crystal ball, so you have to take each day as it comes, but within those days you have to make sure you're getting the most fulfilment out of it that you can. We can't sit here and worry. What does that do? Absolutely nothing. Changing your emotions and how you feel about something changes the whole dynamic; it changes what the end result is.”

At the moment, his goal is to return to Lahey and get the stent removed, as, with or without public help, it must come out. A bank loan is his only other payment option, although without a job, he is uncertain how he would be able to repay it.

“The stent that they put in is only temporary, so I don't know what would happen if it's left in longer than required. I would have to find a way to raise funds in order to have that last surgery,” he said.

“As far as I know, from what the vitals [showed] and everything they did, everything we saw, everything else in my body is fine, but that was the one issue that was hampering my liver and causing the back-up and all of that. And thankfully, that's all been sorted.”

• Support Dion and Lexy Correia by making a donation atshorturl.at/2X7Sd