THE STORY OF THE GABRIEL HOUSE

The story behind the Gabriel House of Care begins long before the idea of the house was conceived. It began in the 1940s with a young boy who was misdiagnosed with cystic fibrosis- which would later be revealed in his 40s.

That boy was Jorge Bacardi.

A member of the well-known Bacardi family, who have distributed rum and other fine spirits for 150 years. But a determined young Jorge outlived his doctors’ predictions of not surviving his childhood, and then went on to become the vice president in the Bacardi family business.

It wasn’t until Jorge reached his 40’s when doctors determined that he did not actually suffer from cystic fibrosis. The true diagnosis was actually a congenital disease called primary ciliary dyskinesia.

His only hope for survival was a double lung transplant.

After much soul-searching and the counsel of doctors and family, Jorge, with his wife Leslie by his side, made the difficult decision to pursue a transplant. They committed themselves not only to the rigorous process but to deeply respect and honor the gift of life- if he was approved and fortunate enough to receive an organ.

In March 2008, at age 64, Jorge Bacardi received a double lung transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. His surgery was complex but the outcome and his recovery were excellent. He left the hospital a few days later, having experienced a full breath of air for the first time in his life. Almost immediately, the Bacardi’s began thinking about how they could give back to honor their organ donor, whom Jorge called Gabriel after the heavenly archangel Gabriel.

Later, in 2009, the Bacardi’s learned the true identity of their donor.

The donor was Christopher Mark Gregory, a nineteen-year-old student at Loyola University in New Orleans, who suffered a fatal brain aneurysm. They had an emotional meeting with Christopher’s parents, brothers, and other family members at Gregory’s home in Baltimore. Soon thereafter, Jorge and Leslie Bacardi donated funds to Mayo Clinic to lead the construction of a new hospitality house.

They named the house Gabriel House of Care, in honor of his organ donor.

The Bacardi gift to Mayo Clinic was an expression of their deep gratitude to Christopher, his family, Dr. Cesar Keller, and his Mayo transplant team. The Bacardi’s made the lead gift to St. Andrew’s Lighthouse, Inc. to support the opening of Gabriel House of Care.

Thanks to his donor, Christopher, Jorge was able to live until he was 76 before passing away in September of 2020.

But Jorge and Christopher’s story does not end there.

With each guest comes another compelling story of courage, determination, and the human spirit. All of them a tribute to a young man who gave the gift of life to another, and a family whose generosity and caring bring hope and healing for generations to come through the Gabriel House of Care.