NEWS

Poisoned Del. family blessed by pope Sunday

Brittany Horn
The News Journal

The pope’s departure marked a special day for a Delaware family badly poisoned earlier this year in the Caribbean.

Before leaving the Atlantic Aviation hangar Sunday night, Pope Francis stopped to bless the Esmond family, who fell gravely ill from pesticide poisoning during a vacation to St. John in March. Steve Esmond, 49, and his two sons, Sean and Ryan, remain wheelchair-bound, said U.S. Senator Chris Coons.

Coons (D-Del.) and his wife, Annie, helped to arrange the possible meeting with Pope Francis before his departure, along with the help of Vice President Joe Biden’s office, Secret Service and numerous other agencies, Coons said Tuesday.

The family is strongly Catholic, so getting to meet the pope and share in his visit to the United States was a “great surprise and a wonderful blessing,” Coons said.

“The Esmonds are an amazing family who are coming through a very difficult recovery,” Coons said, “and it was a great blessing to be with The Holy Father in Philadelphia.”

Though Coons declined to go into detail about the condition of the Esmonds, he did note that this was their first trip away from the hospital since returned from the Virgin Islands. Esmond’s wife, Dr. Theresa Devine, is not dependent on a wheelchair.

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The Esmonds were poisoned March 18 at their $800-a-night rental villa at the Sirenusa resort overlooking Cruz Bay when a Terminix work sprayed methyl bromide in the condo below theirs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials said. The family fell ill two days later.

Since then, they have been battling the pesticide that left them paralyzed for months.

Ultimately, the hangar was the best place for the family to meet Pope Francis. Coons said he was just thankful it worked out, though he gave all the credit to his wife.

Coons remains moved by the pontiff’s visit, after hearing him speak to Congress during the pope’s first U.S. visit. The senator said he is still in awe of what the religious leader had to offer.

“By his deeds and his words, he genuinely inspired and challenged many of us,” Coons said.

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.

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