Antonio Prete of Lethbridge, 25, is hoping to inspire people to follow their dreams no matter the circumstance as he deals with the loss of both his parents in a two-week span.
On Christmas morning, Prete says he discovered his father Mike Prete in an unresponsive state, later learning he had died of a heart attack.
Just days later, Prete received a phone call that his mother Karen Cook was in ICU at the Chinook Regional Hospital. He says he was helping his younger sister move at the time, and the news came as a shock.
“Hearing that just a couple days after my dad’s passing was just unbelievable.”
On Jan. 2, Cook was taken off life support, and passed away in hospital.
Prete, who has two younger siblings and two older step-siblings, says the support he’s received since the losses has been extremely heartwarming.
“The last couple weeks have been really supportive for me,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me, I’ve had a lot of friends and family I haven’t talked to in a while reach out. So it’s really nice to have their support.”
His aunt, Barb Smith, set up a GoFundMe page for Prete to help with funeral costs and his return to school. It had raised just shy of $2,500 by Sunday afternoon.
Prete says he wants to make his parents proud by helping others, citing them as his main motivation to return to school.
“I’m doing health-care aide because I just want to give back to the community and help the elderly out more,” said Prete, who began his studies last week. “Just trying to keep moving forward, because they wanted the best life for me.”
He adds he doesn’t want to ask for help, but hopes his story might motivate others to keep pushing forward during difficult situations.
“Hopefully this can get across to at least one person to make them feel like they can do anything,” Prete said. “Don’t give up and just keep moving.”