A Celebration of Stephen Jason Jularbal's Life

Dear Friends, Family and close ones,

It's with a heavy heart to say that Stephen Jason Jularbal has sadly passed away on October, 6, 2023 at the age of 37. Stephen's family was with him during his final moments, where he died peacefully and painlessly in his sleep.

His brother has set up this fundraiser in his loving memory in order to help with funeral expenditures and ensuring that Stephen is given the best possible send-off. All contributions, even the smallest amount will help so much and be deeply appreciated.

Stephen's Story

Stephen Jason Jularbal was born on November, 21, 1985 in Manila, Philippines and moved to the UK at the age of 3.

At the age of 17 Stephen was diagnosed with Erythrodermic psoriasis, a rare form of the psoriasis disease that covers at least 90% of a person's body. At the time research on the disease was limited and there were no treatments designed to tackle Stephen's disease. This disease was known to cause heart failure, diabetes, and an increased risk of infections and pneumonia.

At the age of 22 Stephen's kidneys began to falter due to early-onset diabetes and adverse reactions to medication. He developed early-onset arthritis from his skin condition and began to lose his mobility at just age 25, affecting all his major joints, from his knees to his fingers. By age 30, Stephen's kidneys were operating at half capacity, and by age 35, he was placed on the kidney donor waiting list.

On May 6, 2023, Stephen was admitted to the hospital due to an elevated risk of a heart attack. His stay was expected to be routine, lasting only two weeks. Unfortunately, Stephen never left the hospital and eventually lost both his legs due to complications from diabetes, exacerbated by his kidney disease treatment. By age 37, he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure and was deemed unfit for a kidney transplant.

However, in spite of nearly 20 years without positive news, Stephen never once surrendered to his diseases. When he was healthier, Stephen loved playing badminton, played for his church as a self-taught drummer and enjoyed competing in trading card games; often travelling to different countries and cities to participate in tournaments. He was an avid comic book collector, gamer and anime nerd - meeting some of his best friends in comic stores and online gaming forums alike.

Stephen enjoyed building PCs - he would spend hours watching, debating and calculating how much it'd cost to build his dream PC; only to spend the next day doing the same thing all over again and rewriting all of his plans because he saw certain parts cheaper elsewhere.

Stephen supported Liverpool F.C. his entire life, having followed them closely since he was a child. His dearest memory was watching Liverpool win the Champions League and Premiere League. One of his life goals was to see Liverpool play in person at Anfield.

Stephen was known for his unwavering determination to see tomorrow through. Even during his darkest hours he was always looking ahead and held onto his dreams closely. Stephen will be very much missed.

Stephen is survived by his parents, younger brother and pet dog.

We love you Jason, you will forever be missed.

We thank you, as a family, for taking the time to read this fundraiser and helping us honour Stephen's memory.