Oükas Bear Fundraiser

This is a fundraiser for Loukas Castillo and his family, to help with the cost of his special medical needs. Loukas is a 5 year old little boy who was born with severe and complex congenital heart disease. He was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which essentially means he was born with half a heart.

Loukas was 5 days old when he had his first open heart surgery. His next heart surgery was when he was 3 months old. Since that time, Loukas has had 8 additional heart surgeries and countless cardiac catheterizations. Loukas' heart anatomy is particularly complex, so he has had to have treatment in both New York and in California at Stanford Children's Hospital. In 2019, Loukas spent 6 months hospitalized at Stanford Children's in their Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. For 4 of those 6 months, Loukas needed a breathing tube and was dependent on a ventilator. 

Thankfully, Loukas has just undergone another heart surgery and is doing a little better than he was last year. That said, he still has several heart surgeries ahead of him, as well as a lot of rehab so he can get bigger and stronger. All of this past medical care, as well as his upcoming treatment, is costly and places tremendous financial strain on Loukas' family. The cost of medical care, medications, in-home nursing services, travel, and missed work/wages due to hospitalizations has been enormous. Any funds raised here will be put towards these expenses, as well as towards the family's goals of relocating closer to Loukas' primary medical center.

We hope that you might feel some connection to Loukas and his story, and that you may consider offering some financial support to help him through his journey. Any small amount makes a big difference and would be profoundly appreciated. 

Thank you,
Loukas Bear & Family