In the name of Hope

Asha's Story:

Asha Leah DiPaolo was born July 31st, 2019 with Down Syndrome. From the first day, she was like holding onto the sun. Her whole life, Asha was nothing but pure joy, happiness and smiles.

On April 2nd, 2023 the absolute unimaginable happened, a parent's worst nightmare. Asha had been sick for about a week with what we thought was RSV. Turns out, she not only had Strep, but also Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV). HMPV is similar to RSV, but it is known to cause respiratory distress in the very young, elderly, and those immunocompromised. Since she was born with Down Syndrome, Asha was predisposed to complications with respiratory issues. On the morning of April 2nd, we noticed she was having difficulty breathing and took her to Champion Urgent Care in Alamogordo. They sent us to the Emergency Department at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center. Chest X-Ray revealed that one of her lungs was partially collapsed because of liquid gathered around her lung due to Strep that had gone septic, and unknown to us at the time, HMPV.

Asha was flown to El Paso Children's Hospital, where they tried everything they could, but unfortunately, she passed away at 7:09 p.m.

We cannot begin to express how this has affected us, but we can say that our family needs help for medical expenses, final expenses, and even things we cannot predict. We appreciate every single word spoken, hug received, or dollar raised because this was completely unexpected and we honestly need the support.