Our brother Gabe “Gabriel” Castillo asked us to reach out to our community, our family, our friends, and our network in his time of need.
On March 25th, he had a minor surgery to expand his fistula and the next day he came down with a fever and chills. Knowing how susceptible he is to infection they admitted him to the hospital immediately out of precaution. Ultimately, it was not an infection from the surgery but rather fast downward spiral from influenza-A that quickly spun into Pneumonia (think COVID) and started to attack his lungs. By Sunday night (27th), his condition worsened and he was admitted to the ICU as he required more oxygen and monitoring given his deteriorating condition. Monday morning, we received a call that no one was expecting - his was in distress to the extent that intubation was the only option to keep him alive.
With no other options he was intubated for the next 6 days fighting for his life. The doctors and nurses at Kaiser Walnut Creek were absolutely incredible in their care. Watching them work around the clock to keep his entire body balanced while on the ventilator (the blood pressure, the sugar levels, the oxygen levels, the sedation levels, the medication, dialysis, etc.) and the care they had for us as a family will never be forgotten.
On days 5/6 of intubation he began to show some signs of recovery and on the 6th day, in fulfillment of our collective prayers , he was extubated on Easter Sunday. What we hoped to be quick bounce back to normal was anything but that. The next 7 days were perhaps the hardest in his life. Now awake, his struggle to comprehend the cause and what was happening, exasperated by his inability to breathe - monitoring oxygenation levels point by point, minute by minute, and breath by breath became the longest week of his life, and ours as well.
What we’ve learned is that while the pneumonia infection has subsided, the inflammation, damage, and deep bruising of his lungs has resulted in ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). This condition was a primary cause of many of the deaths that took place during COVID. Fortunately, he is on a slow road to recovery but timing for recovery will require months of rehabilitation of both his lung function as well as his body which has now been idle for 25+ days. He is immediately focusing on getting out of the ICU into a regular hospital room then, ultimately back home, but he cannot shake the fact that he will be without an income for at least the next six months while his living expenses will not stop. He hasn’t begun to think about the mounting medical expenses that will result nor should he at this time. All focus on healing in the short term.
With that being said, he is asking for any help, aid, contributions our community can provide to help bridge the gap over the next six months to allow him to focus on getting his lungs and body rehabilitated and in a better position than he was even before his stint in the hospital.
We greatly appreciate all the prayers and support you’ve given to date.