On the evening of October 10th, 2024, our sweet 19 year old Kota was playing Fortnite on his computer against friends when he started feeling dizzy and said the room was spinning. He had pain in the back of his neck and a horrible headache. He immediately told his mom and she rushed him to the emergency room.

The year prior he was diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, a rare disease that causes his body to continuously try to throw blood clots everywhere. Since he was 11 years old he has been in and out of the hospital and ICU’s with organ failure and a blood clot in his liver. But throughout it all he tried to live a normal life. He went to school, got his drivers license, and worked on a dairy farm.

Upon arrival into the ED this time, he was diagnosed with a moderately large ischemic stroke in his cerebellum due to a blood clot. They rushed him back for emergency surgery to remove the clot, and while in there, the clot broke off and traveled to his thalamus, pons, and brain stem. This caused him to be “Locked-in.” He was 100% cognitive but trapped in his body. Unable to move anything other than his eyes and neck. For 16 months he had been on a ventilator, had a PGJ feeding tube, and had been hospitalized, in and out of the ICU where he sadly lost his battle from septic shock. He spelled using a color coded letter board through blinking and moving his neck. Kota was a warrior and pushed very hard every day. He hadn’t been home since that horrible day in October 2024. His mom stayed by his side every night. Her employer recently terminated her because she had been unable to go back to work, refusing to leave his side.

Kota devastatingly passed away on February 13. 2026. A sweet, young man taken far too soon.

His mom is now planning his celebration of life. There are so many costs to go along with it. She has to go back to work but needs time off to grieve and heal.

The family thanks you for all kind words, thoughts, and prayers through this difficult time.

We love and miss you Kota Bear.

Also, you can follow his journey on the Facebook page, Dakota’s Road to Recovery, where his mom provides updates, pictures, and videos! ❤️