<div><br /><strong>April 4th, 2022:</strong><br /><br />The Castellanos Burke family has asked me to post an update about the funeral arrangements for Maria Celeste Burke. These are as follows:<br /><br /><strong>Friday, April 8th at St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home &amp; Gardens,</strong><br /><strong>701 W. Virtue Street, Chalmette LA 70043</strong><br /><strong>(504)-279-6376</strong><br /><br /><strong>Visitation from 10:00 am-2:00 pm</strong><br /><strong>Service at 2:00 pm</strong><br /><strong>Burial at 3:00 pm</strong><br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1649109995946636_r.png" alt="64224251_1649109995946636_r.png" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><strong>April 2nd, 2022:  </strong><br /><br />Story from WWL:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/st-bernard/woman-who-died-after-tornado-hit-her-arabi-home-remembered-as-beacon-of-love-positivity/289-94212197-19c6-4f90-8f24-5dbe72393b40" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woman who died after tornado hit her Arabi home remembered as beacon of love positivity Maria Celeste Burke lives on through the people she loved</a> <br /><br /><br /><strong>APRIL 1st, 2022:</strong><br /><br />It is with great sadness that I write of the death of Maria Celeste Burke at UMC in New Orleans from a blood clot early yesterday evening. <br /><br />Many of this fundraiser's generous donors have been aware of the family's desperate situation since the tornado destroyed their home last week, and today, many friends, family members, and local donors to this page will have already read the tragic news of her death on Nola.com or elsewhere. <br /><br />Despite living with muscular dystrophy for many years and suffering injuries from the recent tornado, Maria's death was very sudden and unexpected. Doctors had been discussing Maria's discharge only the day before, and specialists had even measured her for a new wheelchair. She saw her mother Dea around lunchtime, and was with Steven and their friend afterwards, talking and playing video games.  A little later she felt less well and was having trouble breathing. <br /><br />The Castellanos Burke family wishes to thank you all for your support and good wishes, your generous donations, and now sadly for your condolences too. Instead of paying for her funeral, they wished these funds could have gone towards making Maria's life easier, buying the van wheelchair lift that she was so excited about having again, and replacing her medical equipment lost in the tornado. <br /><br />On behalf of Dea, Jimmy, Steven, Massiel, Aaron, and Karina, thank you all for your kind messages and continued support. The family is understandably devastated and still processing this sad news. I will continue to forward e-mails sent via this platform to Karina who is with them providing enormous comfort and support. The family will make funeral arrangements within the next week. <br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648856601471564_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648856601471564_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br />________________________<br /><br />In what press reports have dubbed a <strong>"Wizard of Oz ride"</strong>, the <strong>Castellanos Burke Family</strong> lost their home on Prosperity Street in a matter of seconds, and their special needs daughter Maria Celeste remains within the ICU after surgery to treat her injuries from being inside an enormous multi-vortex tornado. <br /><br /><strong>MANY thanks to so many of you who have donated to this fundraiser</strong>. The Castellanos Burke family is very grateful to every one of you who have contributed, and to those who are considering donating. They fear that they are facing enormous medical bills as <strong>Maria Celeste HAS NO HEALTH INSURANCE OR MEDICAID</strong>. <br /><br />Thank you to those who have messaged me asking for clarification on this. As a Dreamer (DACA recipient), Maria has been turned down for Medicaid twice, but is still hoping. Children’s Hospital stopped covering her care in November after she turned 22 (amazingly she has not seen her specialist since this time!). They are also unsure if the hospital will set her up with medical equipment, but to leave there she must have the following:<br /><br />1) Ventilator; 2) Oxygen Machine; 3) Suction Machine; 4) Cough Assist; 5) Tracheotomy Materials (like gauze, suction catheters); 6) Motorized Wheelchair (fitted for her size; 7) Van with Lift (they only had liability and uninsured motorists. With the tornado, they lost all modes of transportation); 8) Place to Live; 9) Furniture <br /><br />To those who've messaged me, I've forwarded your kind advice and resources to the family, and hope that aside from injures Maria suffered in the tornado, she can secure medical assistance to cover her regular monthly disability needs so that monies raised in this fundraiser can go towards rent, wheelchair, van with lift, etc. If anyone can share this page, I would be very grateful — THANK YOU!<br /><br />On Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 shortly after 7:00 pm, the vast minimum EF3-level tornado left the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans to wreak havoc two miles further downriver in the neighborhood of Arabi, Lousiana. The tornado lifted the Castellanos Burke family home from its cinderblocks, spun it around like clothes in a tumble dryer, then dropped it to earth again 20-feet away. <strong>It is a miracle they are alive.</strong><br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_164814387138032_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_164814387138032_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><br />
</div>

<div>Dea, her husband Jimmy, their daughter Maria Celeste, and Maria's boyfriend Steven had all just eaten dinner. Dea and Jimmy were watching television on the sofa, and Maria and Steven were in the bedroom. They heard the emergency warning alert, then in few seconds their lives were blown apart. Dea was hurled into another room, and Maria was thrown to the floor.<br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_164808704632794_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_164808704632794_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>

<div><br />After the house landed back to earth Dea and Jimmy heard Maria calling, trapped under furniture within what remained of their home. Neighbors helped to rescue Maria, and once first responders arrived she was rushed to ER where they discovered some internal bleeding. Maria remains in hospital, recovering from surgery. <br /><br />Luckily their other daughter Massiel and little grandson Aaron were elsewhere, and are both safe and sound.  <br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648093595186249_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648093595186249_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><strong><br /></strong>
</div>

<div><strong>The family is devastated, obviously in shock, and their material losses are vast.</strong>
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>Maria Celeste is a talented artist, loves to draw cartoons, and be creative with makeup. She is also very brave -- living day to day wheelchair bound, and suffering from muscular dystrophy. Maria is on a ventilator and oxygen machine 24/7, has a tracheotomy, and must take great care that others do not expose her to microbes and viruses. 
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>With Maria's condition, a bad cold can be more than just unpleasant, it can be dangerous, so Maria's family and friends take care to wash their hands regularly and even change clothes before seeing her. The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard enough for this family, but now they have lost their home, most of their belongings, and much of Maria's expensive medical equipment. <br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648087021474924_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648087021474924_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>The family's dogs Rocco and Benji are alive and okay, as are their chihuahuas Bella, Sasha, and Finn. But Dea's numerous and much loved chickens, doves, and parakeets are missing, wounded, or dead. She has always been generous with fresh eggs, bringing them to all friends who express interest in taking some. But now the bodies of many of her birds lie strewn among the wreckage of the family's house and garage. 
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>The day after the tornado, one injured and now homeless chicken sought shelter in a twisted drawer of clothes covered in insulation from where the ceiling fell in, and one of Dea's parakeets clung to the branch of a small tree nearby, no doubt wondering where its friends and home had gone. <br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_164809344521351_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_164809344521351_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><br />
</div>

<div>Dea has always loved birds, and after the tornado, many of her china ornaments lay in broken pieces all over the kitchen floor, thrown from her wooden kitchen cabinets just like the contents of their fridge and freezer, or the dinner they didn't have time to put away. 
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>It was almost impossible to find plates, glasses, dishes, or ornaments that hadn't been broken or chipped. It all happened so quickly. As Dea told a newspaper reporter the next day: <strong>"...appreciate what you have today, because tomorrow it might be gone."</strong><br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_164808769778092_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_164808769778092_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>The family had no rental or disaster insurance. They don't know which of Maria's medical equipment they can salvage or whether Maria's special wheelchair will work again. Jimmy's car with the wheelchair lift is wrecked. Several of their cell phones were smashed. They didn't know <strong>under which wall or floor precious possessions were trapped, </strong>or the location of even basic, necessary household items like sheets or pillows. 
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>Will their dented washing machine or dryer still work when plugged into power outlets? They don't know where those power outlet will be, because they don't yet know where they will live. Recreating a home from scratch is a very daunting process.<br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648093966457474_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648093966457474_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><strong><br /></strong>
</div>

<div><strong>Neither Easy nor Prosperous</strong><br /><br />The Castellanos Burke family home remained where it landed for almost a week, blocking access along Prosperity from Easy Street until yesterday, when it was bulldozed. The day after the tornado, friends and neighbors climbed over the yellow police lines to help save as many sentimental possessions and clothes as possible, also what little furniture that survived and could be "safely" removed, plus a few precious old photographs, <strong>but MUCH has been permanently lost or destroyed. </strong>What the family could not salvage from this highly unstable and dangerous structure had to be condemned along with the remains of their home. 
</div>

<div><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_16480879637454_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_16480879637454_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div>Until they can find another home, Dea, Jimmy, and Steven are staying with family member Mariam Karina Contreras, who is receiving funds for the family raised here on this GoFundMe page. You may also donate via the Venmo account <strong>@MKCP-1022</strong>. <br /><br />Any donation is massively appreciated by the Castellanos Burke family as they have immediate and very pressing needs. Please, please SHARE this page, be generous if you can -- even if just a dollar -- because in times like these, every penny counts. <strong>THANK YOU.</strong><br /><br />
</div>

<div><strong><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648139293521546_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648139293521546_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648612632286165_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648612632286165_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648612703860211_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648612703860211_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/64224251_1648612758108745_r.jpeg" alt="64224251_1648612758108745_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /><br /><br />Thank you also to the hardworking reporters below for your articles and videos helping to spread the word about this disaster:<br /><br /><br /><iframe media_type="0" media_id="wwJUmkca6qc" class="youtube-replace" title="YouTube video player" style="margin-bottom:20px;width:560px;height:315px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wwJUmkca6qc/?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe><br /><br /></strong>
</div>

<div><strong><a href="https://www.nola.com/news/weather/article_63a042ae-aa86-11ec-adf0-a3774e8a1b30.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Girl in wheelchair rescued from Arabi home that tornado heaved into road in Wizard of Oz ride</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/girl-survives-tornado-dropped-house-street-83621091" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Girl on breaching machine saved after tornado moved her home</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/23/new-orleans-tornado-lifts-family-home-air-wizard-oz-ride/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Orleans tornado lifts family and their home into the air in ‘Wizard of Oz ride’</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwJUmkca6qc&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tornado in Arabi Leaves Family Homeless</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-storms-louisiana-new-orleans-weather-afa837eb204fa51962ef734a3c242181" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Girl on breathing machine saved after tornado moved her home</a> <br /></strong>
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div><a href="https://www.nola.com/news/weather/article_63a042ae-aa86-11ec-adf0-a3774e8a1b30.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Girl in wheelchair rescued from Arabi home</strong></a>
</div>

<div> 
</div>

<div><a href="https://www.wwltv.com/article/weather/severe-weather/girl-survives-tornado-dropped-house-onto-street/289-992b1fa3-d91b-4fa4-9ed7-909ebe23bb15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Girl survives tornado that dropped house</strong></a><br /><br /><br />
</div>

Anonymous

Kathleen Mims

Jodie Couture

Melissa McGuire (Irizarry)

Cheryl Tomeny

Josh Keller

ramona fincher

Bert Laque

Phyllis Bodin

Kenneth Oden

Marialice M Cohen

Billy Burk

Tornado Relief for the Castellanos Burke Family

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Tornado Relief for the Castellanos Burke Family

Still $2,885 to go. Help us build momentum.