In Memory of Justin and Assistance for His Widow, Melissa

We are the family of Melissa Malia Villareal and we are raising money for her after the sudden passing of her husband, Justin Ryan Villareal.

In October 2024, Justin was diagnosed with pneumonia and spent a week in the hospital. He was released and thought to have recovered. Unfortunately, the pneumonia worsened and Justin was again hospitalized in January 2025. On February 1st, he was transferred to St. Rose Hospital. He was diagnosed with an immune deficiency virus in addition to the pneumonia. Due to a lack of an immune system, the pneumonia worsened again, resulting in him being placed in a medically induced coma to be intubated and medically paralyzed to conduct a process called “proning” (being placed on his stomach) to help aerate his lungs.

On March 6th, despite his muscles starting to deteriorate, Justin appeared to have taken a turn toward recovery. Justin reached the requirements to be able to stop the proning process and discontinue the paralytics and medical sedation he was currently on. On March 12th, Justin was evaluated by the surgical team to see if he was a candidate for a tracheostomy. Unfortunately, he was denied for the procedure because he still required high levels of oxygen from the ventilator.

On March 14th, the proning process was started again. Even though Justin was on high levels of oxygen, he was not able to oxygenate his lungs on his own. By Sunday, March 16th, his doctors requested life support. The maximum amount of time that can be spent on a ventilator before receiving life support is 10-14 days. Anything past this time, the survival rate is too low. Since Justin had already been on the ventilator for 17 days, he was denied life support.

On Monday, March 17th, Justin's body was not responding to the proning process. By this time, Justin was already showing signs of muscle deterioration, including the muscles of his heart, which caused tachycardia. The doctors showed the family X-Rays of the extensive damage to Justin's lungs caused by the pneumonia. The X-Rays showed irreversible damage to the entirety of his right lung and about 75% of his left lung. At this point, the doctors advised us to have an “end of life” conversation. All present family members agreed that since he continued to fight for his life, we would continue his treatment.

On March 18th, at 4:00 AM, Justin was placed in a supine position (on his back). It was at this point that his oxygenation plummeted along with his heart rate and his blood pressure. Justin's heart had stopped. Life saving procedures were administered immediately. After 10 minutes they were able to resuscitate him. Despite their best efforts, they were not able to stabilize him.

At 8:10 AM, March 18th, 2025, Justin passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. He was 41 years old.

Not only has this loss devastated our entire family, but His wife Melissa is left with an irreplaceable hole in her life. We are hoping our community of family and friends will come together to raise money to help alleviate medical expenses, a celebration of life service, and any future expenses for Melissa. Thank you for even the smallest donation as it will help in this tragic time while Melissa endures life without Justin.