This posting is both an update on my brother and a yet another plea for financial help for him and his wife Jessica. David is home now and doing overall pretty ok. He definitely has some hurdles and hardship with his situation now. So many of the simple things we all take for granted are a huge obstacle for him . As I said before just getting in and out of bed to go to the bathroom or whatever is an ordeal for him. He is doing his best but is struggling with everything. Now obviously he can’t and hasn’t worked for some time now and Jessica has had to take 3 weeks off of work to help him do about everything and since she hasn’t been at her job long enough she doesn’t qualify for family leave. It’s just time off without pay!! I have and will continue to help best I can but I can only do so much. So that’s why once again I’m here putting myself out there doing what I feel is like begging for $ for my brother. I just don’t know what else to do for them. This is basically all I can do. I don’t expect much. I really do know that times are tough for all of us and I appreciate the help already given but if you can help please do so. One of the easiest things to do is please share this post. That will get it in front of more people and if they share as well it’s just that many more people who might help. Again I feel very odd and humbled and embarrassed doing this but he’s my brother!!!

Thanks again

Stephen

Hello and thank you for reading about this. My name is Stephen Castro, and I am doing this for my brother David and his wife Jessica.

Today, 2/27/2025, my brother David is going to have his second below-knee amputation from complications of Diabetes Type II. He has been battling with this disease for several years now and has been unable to control his diabetes and the resulting lower leg infections he developed, no matter how hard he and his doctors at Mercy Wound Care tried. After losing his first leg to the infections and trying to move past and get used to his prosthetic lower leg, he was hit with the huge setback of new infections in his remaining leg that made him unable to continue gaining strength and getting better with using his new leg. Now it is a few months since his first amputation, and there he is again at Mercy waiting on his latest surgery.

He does have insurance that should cover most of the costs, I would assume; however, it is truly going to be everything else in his life that is going to be affected by this. Losing one leg is bad enough and life-changing, but to lose two in just a few months is devastating, and he and his wife are just not prepared to deal with what is to come for them very soon. I see so many things that they will need, from simple home alterations to a better-equipped vehicle, and so many things in between that most people would never think of. For him, just getting out of bed soon will be such a challenge. The bathroom and showering, and every little day-to-day task is going to become such hard obstacles for them both. I will help as best I can, but this is far beyond me and my basic medical background as a phlebotomist of 30 years. I know when to say when and ask for help, which is what this is. I am completely not the type of person who ever thought I would be doing this, but I see the need and how truly important it is.

UPDATE-- so as of 4pm today he has been told that they can't do surgery on his leg today. He had to have some pre-op testing done and part of that was a stress test for his heart and it turns out his heart is only functioning at 22%. So now he has to be seen by a cardiologist and have that delt with urgently then they will take the leg. He is very stressed as am I and we will see what happens now. I will update when I know more.

We are fundraising to help David and Jessica with the overwhelming costs and adjustments they will face after David's second amputation.