Help Us Lay Terry Pilgrim to Rest

Hello, my name is Lara Jones. I am creating this GoFundMe account for my oldest brother, Terry Pilgrim. Unfortunately, he passed away just a few hours ago (May 23, around 2:30 am). He had just turned 46 in January, so needless to say, no one was prepared for this outcome.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 18, 2025, Terry was complaining of pain in his neck, arm, and head—all on the left side. Our brother, Aaron, called the EMS and had Terry taken to the nearest hospital. He was admitted on that day. After this episode, he was talking a little, but he could no longer see, and his eyes were bulged out. The doctor couldn't do an MRI because of Terry's size, so even though they were sure he had a stroke or heart attack, they couldn't call it that at the moment. They did many other tests, getting no answers. Meanwhile, Terry was just laying there, and time was being wasted.

The family had him moved to another hospital, and during the move, Terry quit breathing, so they had to insert a breathing tube. The new hospital got right on things. They found out that Terry had an infection, so they put him on the maximum amount of medicines for just about any kind of infection, along with different kinds of blood pressure medicines as well because his BP wouldn't hold up. They did an ultrasound of his lungs and saw that he had walking pneumonia that had led to sepsis. By then, four days had passed, so it was too late. His liver was failing, his kidneys were failing, he had blood in his urine, he was getting jaundice, and he had been unresponsive and on life support for two days. The doctors did all they could possibly do, but by the end of the night, his heart had stopped.

Terry was such a unique individual. He was the sweetest person, wouldn't hurt a fly, and he loved animals, especially his dog. He never met a stranger; he would make friends anywhere he went. He loved fishing, playing video games, and gambling on slot machines. He suffered from obesity for a majority of his life, and he was getting tired of failing diets. On March 18, 2025, he started the process for gastric bypass, and he actually went through with all of it. The surgery went great; he had lost 180 pounds and was still losing weight and eating right. We were all so proud of him! He was just starting to turn his life around!

Terry shared an apartment with his brother. He got a disability check, and they worked at a chicken farm. His parents live off disability, and his dad does odd jobs to get through the month. He didn't have any kind of life insurance, and our family doesn't have cash lying around, savings, or any kind of assets. This is going to be a very hard time for us, as we are all stressing on how to get Terry properly buried. Please, if you are able to donate anything, we will greatly appreciate it!

UPDATE:

I would like to thank everyone who has donated! It means alot to us and helps tremendously!

Someone just told me that this website wasn't working for them and for some reason she couldn't send money through here. If you are having the same issue or would rather use cashapp, my cash tag is $MomajonesX2. 

Thank you!!