The husband and father of four tragically suffered a stroke following a 14-hour operation on April 22, which was his second procedure to remove a benign tumour near his brain stem.
A fundraising effort has seen good Samaritans from the Goulburn Valley community and further afield unite in the hope of providing financial relief to the Caiafa family as their loved one remains in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
At present, Paul’s wife and children have been making gruelling six-hour round trips to be by his bedside as he continues his recovery from the stroke, which has left him with severe brain neuron damage and paralysed from the neck down.
As a result, he is currently relying on a brain stent to manage intracranial swelling and communicates entirely through eye movements and via his family lip-reading his words as a tracheostomy tube prevents him from speaking.
Prior to his stroke, Paul had been an active part of the sporting community in his hometown, notably helping forming friendships at clubs such as the GV Suns SC and Shepparton United SC, alongside refereeing at the Shepparton Nations Cup.
A GoFundMe appeal, which was launched by Paul’s sister, Liv Caiafa, has raised over $58,000 at the time of writing.
It aims to provide assistance to his wife and kids so they can funding train fares, fuel, and Melbourne accommodation during this difficult time.
In addition, any money raised will go towards helping the family to cover food, bills, and everyday costs, especially with both Paul and his wife having exhausted all of their their paid work leave over the recent months.
Clubs in the Greater Shepparton region including Shepparton United SC joined the appeal for donations, describing Paul as “one of the good guys of our GV football family” in a heartfelt social media post.
Shepparton South SC also released a statement in which they vowed to “rally around” the Caiafa family in support.
The official Shepparton Nations Cup page also highlighted the referee’s “professionalism, commitment, and passion for the game”.
Now, Suns director of football and men’s senior head coach Carley has issued a call-out to members of the public to help the family support fund to reach its $65,000 target.
The appeal is particularly close to his heart, not least as Paul’s son, Kielan Caiafa, has a long association with the club as captain of its Under-23s side.
“I know Paul personally, he’s a fantastic family man,” he said.
“He’s a brilliant football person and referees in the local leagues and MPL games - we wish him a speedy recovery at this time.”
Carley also paid tribute to Kielan for his strength, while highlighting reinforcing the club’s commitment to supporting the wider Caiafa family.
“Full credit to Kielan and the family - he is our under-23s captain and a wonderful human being as well.
“There’s far more important things in life than football and, at times like this, we need to get behind Kielan and his family and support them in whatever way we can, big or small.”
You can donate to the GoFundMe appeal by following this link.
