With the permission of Julio Casteneda's family, I’m organizing this fundraiser for my friend Julio.

As many of you know, Julio is facing major surgery due a medical condition he was born with, hip dysplasia (more on that below). Thanks to God’s grace, the hospital is fully covering the cost of his unique hip replacement — a procedure valued at well over $100,000!

But while the surgery is covered, the recovery is not. Julio will be unable to work his second job for several months — income his family depends on. On top of that, they’re facing costs related to transportation, childcare, home recovery needs, and medical follow-ups.

I’m asking for help on behalf of Julio and his family. This is a way we can come alongside him and his family in a real and tangible way.

100% of your donation goes directly to them and Julio's wife, Kristina, will be helping administrate this GoFundMe page. Please consider giving, and take a moment to read Julio’s heartfelt letter below.

God bless!

Bryan

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Julio:

Dear family and friends,

Blessings and grace to you. I’m writing this message and reaching out to all of you during a difficult and crucial time in my life and my family’s.

I was born with Hip Dysplasia in my home country of Guatemala. From the time I was 2 years old, I began treatment for this condition, and by the time I was 10 years old, I had of a total of 12 surgeries done between Guatemala and the US. The last surgery was in 1996, and I have been able to live a pretty normal life since then. I met my wife Kristina while working for a Christian Ministry in Guatemala. We got married in 2015, and now have two wonderful and beautiful daughters: Arabella and Gabriella. After some consideration, our family decided to move to the US about 5 years ago. Since we moved, my condition has slowly but steadily worsened. My pain has become more limiting, affecting not just my ability to walk and work, but also my overall quality of life.

After years of managing this condition, we have found a specialist that has given

us a hopeful option. I will be having a new procedure called Hip Insight, which is a specialized form of a hip replacement. Based on my specific situation, the specialists are recommending this as the best (and only) viable path forward. In an incredible answer to prayer, the hospital has agreed to cover the full cost of the surgery and the artificial hip itself. This is nothing short of a miracle and I give praise and glory to God for it.

However, there are still several financial needs our family will still be facing during this time. While my full time job will be providing short term disability leave for up to four months, I have a second part time job that we depend on in order to cover for our monthly expenses. I will not be able to continue working for my part-time job during this period and thus will be loosing that income temporarily. In addition to that, we anticipate other out of pocket expenses such as: transportation to appointments, medications, childcare, and other unexpected home recovery needs.

I’m humbly asking that you consider being a part of our journey. Although this has been a very difficult time for me and my family, I want to make sure I pause for a moment to give Praise to God. I can honestly confess that God has used this time to show me how much He’s in control of my life, and I have learned to depend on Him and trust in Him fully. I could share many stories of what God has done in so many ways to bring us to this crossroads, but what I will say is that we are certain this is His will and He’s done so much to show us that already.

If you are in a position to give, we would be endlessly grateful for any support you can provide. But I know not everyone reading this will be in a position to help financially, so I ask that you join me, my family, our church and loved ones in praying for this surgery and everything that it will entail for me and my family.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, may God bless you!

With gratitude,

Julio Castaneda