On February 15th, 2026, at the age of 2 years and 7 months old, Arlo Swayze Ulrich Diaz passed away from a sudden and still unknown heart illness at USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center. Arlo is survived by his mother, Bec Ulrich, his father, Ruben Diaz, and his sister, Ferris Ulrich Diaz. This GoFundMe page was created so that family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and anyone who hears their story can support the Ulrich Diaz family as they make their way through this cataclysmic loss. Your support will help the Ulrich Diaz family with funerary costs as well as help to support them financially as they try to make it through the difficult months ahead.
The Ulrich Diaz family is supported by two pillars. Bec has been at the helm of the more-than-full-time job of homemaking and childrearing since Ferris and Arlo were born. In recent years, Bec took the courageous step to share her journey into mid-life vibrancy through her entrepreneurial work with “Mommentum.” The Ulrich Diaz family is also economically supported by Ruben, a freelance art photographer who is devoted to his craft and committed to the deep and enduring relationships that he has with his clients. Ruben loves his work and considers it a vocation, but his self-employed status leaves him without bereavement leave. Furthermore, Ruben has been experiencing a life-threatening medical condition known as Membranous Glomerulonephritis (MGN) since 2017. MGN is an autoimmune disease where one’s immune system attacks the filters of one’s kidneys, a potentially fatal process where toxins leak into one’s system. In January of 2026, Ruben underwent a series of infusions to treat MGN, treatments that have left his immune system compromised. His doctors told him he must rest so that he can recover. Yet, as a self-employed freelance photographer, Ruben does not have disability leave to step away from work and get the rest he needs to come back into his full health.
Your support will make a transformative difference for the Ulrich Diaz family in this time of great upheaval. Your support will help with funerary costs, it will give Bec, Ruben, and Ferris the time and space they need to grieve Arlo’s sudden loss, and it will provide a moment for Ruben, the family’s current economic provider, to recover his health so that he may return to providing for his family doing the work that he loves.
The Full Story
Arlo Swayze Ulrich Diaz was born on June 20th, 2023 at Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Boulevard. Known as “little blue eyes” to his Abuelita, Arlo always lit up any room with his smile and laughter. His preschool teachers knew him as sweet, kind, and simply adorable. He loved to dance and sing, and his sense of humor left an impression on all
those around him. When Arlo would read books with his parents, he was able to say words back with a clarity of vocalization beyond his two years. Arlo was his sister, Ferris’, best friend and he was always learning new things from her.
In the second week of February 2026, Arlo caught a cold. Arlo was a healthy child. Little kids get sick all the time. While he had a runny nose, this didn’t seem like anything unusual. On Valentine’s Day, Ruben, Bec, Ferris, and Arlo went to the park. They held hands while walking there. At the park, Arlo had a runny nose but it didn’t keep him from running, playing, and laughing. After the park, Ruben and Bec decided they should have lunch somewhere that the kids loved. They went to a restaurant where the Ferris and Arlo always had fun, a place where you make your own pizzas. They decided they would make heart-
shaped pizzas to celebrate Valentine’s Day. When the family got their food, Arlo took a half-hearted bite. Soon after he said he wasn’t feeling well and that he wanted to go home. He rested on Bec as the family finished their meal, still smiling though he seemed a little tired.
The family went home, laid down, and watched a movie together. While they were watching, Arlo threw up. Arlo hadn’t eaten much that day so his throw up was clear and liquid. Bec and Ruben got his water bottle and filled it up while Arlo laid down and rested. He was very tired. Arlo started asking for water. When Bec got up to get something from the kitchen, Arlo followed her and continued to ask for water. In the kitchen, Arlo threw up a second time. After he threw up he said, “Mama, hold me.” Bec picked him up and held him. It was then, in Bec’s arms, that Arlo made a weird noise in his throat. His body went limp. Bec and Ruben knew what was happening was not right. They immediately called
911. As they did so, Arlo’s eyes shut closed and he passed out.
While Bec was on the phone with 911, Ruben ran next door to get their neighbor, Rick, who is a retired fireman. Just as 911 was instructing Bec on how to perform CPR, Rick entered the house and took over. While Rick was performing CPR, Bec and Ruben were holding Arlo’s hands and arms, assuring him that they were there with him. “It’s okay buddy,” they told him, “we’re here with you.” As they heard the ambulance sirens in the distance, Bec ran outside to flag the vehicles down. The paramedics entered and gave Arlo CPR. After about fifteen minutes, they continued administering CPR as they transported Arlo into the ambulance. Arlo was taken to the closest hospital to Elysian Park, USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center. The firefighters who made the journey with the Ulrich Diaz family stayed for as long as they could. Ferris remained in the waiting room with family friends while Bec and Ruben entered the treatment room with Arlo.
At the hospital, a barrage of medical professionals began to attend to Arlo, trying to recover his heartbeat. The doctors and nurses would grasp Arlo’s heartbeat for a moment, but just as soon as his heartbeat returned, it would slip away again. They were pumping adrenaline into him and had inserted a breathing tube. While the doctors and nurses frantically tried to revive Arlo, Bec and Ruben were next to him, reassuring him with their touch and voice. “It’s going to be okay,” they told him. “We’re here, just keep fighting.” “Your sister loves you.” “Keep fighting,” they said over and over again, “we’re right here.”
After some time of this frantic revival, the doctors and nurses still did not know what was going on. They decided to move Arlo to get a CT scan. At this point, Bec and Ruben returned to the pediatric waiting room and decided that Ferris should go home with a friend. After Ferris had gone home, a hospital liason emerged to speak to Bec and Ruben. The doctors had administered CPR two more times. The liason told them, “We are very concerned. Your child is very ill. His heart is weak and he has experienced severe brain injury.”
It was then that Bec and Ruben understood the gravity of the situation. They looked at each other and spoke in confidence. They affirmed their strength as a family, their resilience together, and their commitment to each other. No matter what, they would be there for each other. They understood the situation might force them to make impossible choices, but at that moment, they knew they would be strong for Ferris and for each other.
Every now and then, a head nurse or doctor would emerge into the waiting room to explain their process in detail. But the information that changed everything for Bec and Ruben was when the doctor shared that they had performed three tests for brainstem function and Arlo’s body had no reaction to any of them. This led the doctors to conclude
that what had happened to him was irreversible. When they shined a light on Arlo’s pupils, they did not move. When they stimulated Arlo’s cornea, he did not blink. And when they touched the back of Arlo’s throat, he did not gag or cough. Furthermore, in the CT scan, it showed that the gray and white matter of Arlo’s brain could not be distinguished from one another which indicated acute neurological injury. They were told that Arlo could no longer breathe on his own.
Bec and Ruben were invited to enter Arlo’s room. He was hooked up to a breathing tube, adrenaline was being pumped into him, and he was being seen by a Cardiologist. The Cardiologist told them that he was still very confused, but what he guesses is that Arlo caught a virus that attacked his heart.
Friends and family started to arrive at the hospital. Arlo’s condition began to decline further. His heart was growing more and more weak. The doctor told Bec and Ruben that they were trying to make Arlo as comfortable as possible with medicine, but that he could go at any moment because his heart was so weak. The doctor reassured Bec and Ruben that, as parents, they had done everything that they could possibly do and that they could not have known about this illness or done anything to change the situation. The doctors continued with treatment. They drew blood from Arlo’s stomach and saw that it was becoming more and more acidic because of the lack of oxygen. He began to receive blood transfusions. The doctors told Bec and Ruben they will support any decision they, as parents, choose to make.
In the hardest moment of their lives, with the most impossible decision before them, Bec and Ruben reflected on all that they had gone through that night, all they had seen done to Arlo, and the reality of where his body currently was. They decided that enough was enough. Arlo needed to rest. He did not need to endure any more of this. They
told the doctors to take Arlo off life support.
Once the hospital staff heard of Bec and Ruben’s decision, they brought a big bed into the room to make the family as comfortable as possible. The hospital staff cleaned Arlo, transferred him to the bed, and provided a space where Bec and Ruben could lay down and cuddle with him. They told Bec and Ruben to let them know when they were ready to remove the breathing tube and that they would have about five minutes before he transitioned. Inside of these eternal minutes, both fleeting and infinite, Bec and Ruben kissed Arlo and said their last goodbyes. In this space of pure love, they felt his small body soften into peace. When they looked up at the clock, it was 3am, and he was gone.
The hospital staff let Bec and Ruben know they had the room until 6:30am. Ruben’s family started to enter the room to console them and to give Arlo a hug. Bec’s family was still en route from other states and would arrive later. By this point, Bec and Ruben were completely exhausted. The urge was strong to leave the hospital and get back to snuggle with Ferris. They needed to be with her. At the same time, it felt impossible to leave the hospital, to say goodbye to Arlo, to leave him behind. Bec and Ruben never wanted to leave the hospital, yet they needed to move forward and care for their daughter. Caught in a living nightmare, Bec and Ruben walked out of the hospital, clear that Ferris needed them.
Bec and Ruben arrived home at around 5:30am. Their friend who was caring for Ferris left and they settled in to sleep in the childrens’ room, on the queen-sized lower bunk. Ferris heard them enter and wanted to move from the top bunk to the bottom bunk to lay with them. Halfway between waking and dreaming, Ferris got up.
“Where is Arlo?” she asked.
“Arlo died,” Bec responded. “That means that you are not going to see him anymore.”
Ferris didn’t make a sound. She listened intently.
“This is very confusing to me,” continued Bec. “I know it’s confusing to you. That's okay. It’s going to take me a long time to understand this. I'm going to be very sad and maybe angry and that's okay. Anytime you feel that you want to talk about him, things that made you laugh or things you didn't like, anything you want to say, or if you have questions at any time, we are here.”
“He looked up to you. He learned so much from you,” Ruben added. “We’re going to talk about all good times that we had with him. And we’re also going to talk about the things that made us mad about him,” said Ruben, trying to lighten the mood. “It's helping me right now to talk to you about this. Whenever you're ready, whenever you have any questions, I want to hear them.”
“You can ask us anything,” Bec and Ruben reassured Ferris. “You can talk to us about anything.” “You can feel anything.”
Between the warmth of her parents’ bodies and within the safety of their love, Ferris was able to fall back asleep that early morning. Bec and Ruben were relieved to create a moment of refuge for their daughter, but now, they themselves needed to face this first day’s chasm. Ruben tried to force himself to go to sleep, longing for a moment to not be present in the reality of Arlo’s loss. Bec got up and wandered around the house, devastated by Arlo’s presence at every turn.
The Ulrich Diaz family-- Bec, Ruben, and Ferris-- are in the midst of the day-by-day, minute-by-minute, second-by-second challenge to continue to live in the face of Arlo’s loss. As family and friends started showing up at the house to help, the feeling that they were being held by a larger community has helped the Bec and Ruben to find breath, and to keep going at a time when it feels impossible to do so.
This GoFundMe is part of how, we, as a community who share in the infinite sadness of Arlo’s passing, and who love Bec, Ruben, and Ferris dearly, can find a way forward, together.