My brother Darren died February 4, 2026 at 3 am. He had blood clots in his lungs. In 2024, while getting off the train coming from his job that he had been at since 1996, Darren stepped off the train and fell. Passersby attended to help him up, but he could not bear any weight because the pain was excruciating. An ambulance was called. Unfortunately, they took him to Roseland Hospital instead of Little Company of Mary, which was closer. After being in the emergency room for a while at Roseland Hospital, they advised Darren that he had Sciatic Nerve Pain and prescribed some muscle relaxers. He left there, stopped to get something to eat, and went home. Once he arrived at his apartment, he ate his food then took a muscle relaxer as prescribed. By this point, the pain had become unbearable. Darren decided to call an UBER to take him to Little Company of Mary. After they performed a battery of tests, they found that Darren had a large blood clot in his right leg. They performed emergency surgery. He had just eaten dinner one hour prior which put his life at risk. He was misdiagnosed and inappropriately prescribed. Fortunately, Darren made it through surgery. He was sent home with a walker and a wound vac. Unfortunately, the wound vac did not help and his leg was amputated. After some time, Darren was provided a prosthesis. He turned pressure into progress while adapting to losing a limb. After 28 years, UPS let him go after his amputation. On the night of February 3, 2026, Marcus attended to Darren because he was not feeling very well. Marcus called the ambulance and they took him to Little Company of Mary, where he died while passing through the entry doors. I was told that they performed CPR for one hour as opposed to the 30 minutes per usual.

My family is living through a pain that words can barely hold. Darren fought through misdiagnosis, unnecessary suffering, the loss of his leg, and a system that failed him again and again. And after all he endured, he took his last breath while being wheeled through the doors of the very hospital that once saved him. We are shattered. We are grieving a man who deserved so much more than what life—and our healthcare system—gave him. And now, in the middle of this heartbreak, we are faced with the unbearable reality that we cannot afford to lay him to rest with the dignity, honor, and love he earned every single day of his life. I am asking—humbly, painfully, and from the deepest place in my heart—for your help. If you can give, please give. If you can share, please share. Every act of kindness brings us closer to giving Darren the farewell he deserves, one rooted in respect, compassion, and truth. Your support is not just financial. It is a way of saying Darren’s life mattered. His suffering mattered. His story matters. And that none of us should have to fight alone in our darkest hour. Thank you for standing with us, for seeing us, and for helping us carry what no family should ever have to carry.