Hello, I’m a close friend of Zenaida and her family, and I’ve created this GoFundMe to help support them during this heartbreaking time. All donations will go directly to her beloved son, Zeus, and will be lovingly managed by her mother, Michele. Your kindness, generosity, and prayers mean the world as we come together to honor Zenaida’s memory and care for the family she cherished most.

Timeline of Events

We know many people have questions, and Zee hoped one day to share her story of triumph and inspire others. What she didn't realize was that she was already inspiring us, everything that she overcame and handled that came her way.

This is her story of strength and perseverance, and why she inspires us all...

April 2020- Zenaida finds out she is pregnant and she is excited to be a mother!

2nd/3rd trimester - She appears to develop pregnancy complications that make it necessary for her to be doing more frequent check-ups to ensure hers and the baby's safety.

Zee becomes anemic during pregnancy and would end up being anemic for a little while after the pregnancy. Separately she was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), causing bile acids to build up on the blood and give her uncomfortable conditions during her pregnancy. This was also a risk to the baby, if conditions worsened, requiring extra precaution.

Dec 3, 2020 - She gives birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Zeus. Though he almost doesn't survive due to ICP. He is a fighter, just like his mama.

Dec 3, 2020- Her condition becomes urgent, she must receive a blood transfusion, due to losing a lot of blood giving birth. The blood transfusion will be just enough to save her life.

First 9 months of 2021- After a tough pregnancy, she was excited for her and Zeus to be thriving. Now they could enjoy life, enjoy each other, and even joing the family trip with the rest of us in Oahu. She loved being a mom.

October 6, 2021- Zee develops pain and discomfort in her mouth and she is rushed to the ER. She is diagnosed with tonsillitis.

Oct 7, 2021 -Hospital runs test and uncovers she also has extremely high white blood cell counts. Healthy levels are considered 4K-11k. She was measuring at 60k+ and growing. She would be diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), this was a shock and scare to the whole family as we sat together to discuss how to move forward

End of October- chemotherapy and radiation treatment begins. Zenaida is later added to the bone marrow transplant waiting list

January 2022 - * A bone marrow donor is identified *

February 2022- The transplant surgery is scheduled and appears to be a success!

Spring 2022 - Complications arise from the transplant. Her body had identified the transplant as a foreign substance and began rejecting it. While in remission for Leukemia, she is diagnosed with Acute Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD).

2022-2025: GVHD would be a long uphill battle. Her body would go through a lot of changes and slowly degrade in mobility and functionality in terms of being able to heal and regenerate like a healthy human body could. She is prescribed 20-30 medications daily for the duration of her fight against GVHD. There would be fluctuations of progression to regression during these 3 years.

Some of the symptoms she would endure include extreme fatigue, skin barrier issues, wounds, inflammation, discomfort in many positions, constant need of wounds to be addressed to limit infections, suppressed immune system, muscle necrosis, decreased oxygen levels, sclerosis, amongst others that would be considered more graphic.

October 2025 The hospital staff, and her family, would make note of her powerfully optimistic state of being and mental fortitude. Early October she would share in the family group chat that medications were being reduced and the staff told her they believed she was showing signs of improvement.

Wed, Oct 22nd

Zenaida receives Zeus' preschool pictures and shares with the family so everyone can place their orders. Her spirits were high and she seemed a lot like the pre-diagnosis Zee. Everyone was optimistic.

Thurs., Oct 23rd

Early evening: Zenaida starts to feel nauseous. She is given medication for it, but it doesn’t improve. She starts experiencing emesis, that escalates to hematemesis and a medical emergency ensues. Intubation is required to prevent asphyxiation and increase her oxygen levels that are running low fast.

By 7pm, Doctors sedate her into a deep, deep sleep to ease the pain and calm her so they can run tests to uncover the issue.

Fri, Oct 24

At approximately 12:30am, the CT scan results come back and reveal she is terminal, and she is in her final hours. The hospital staff give the heartbreaking news that there truly isn’t anything they can do at this stage, and what she was actually experiencing earlier was the beginning of a multi-organ failure.

Our family was notified shortly after, one by one, in the middle of the night, so that that they'd have the opportunity to rush to the hospital, if they could. Upon the last local family member arriving, she is removed from life assistance.

These final moments, as the body recognized support was shut off, would be distinctly quiet. On October 24, 2025 at 5:25am, her spirit was set free.

Zee was full of unwavering strength, courage, and love for those nearest and dearest to her. She was beautiful mother to Zeus. We hope to preserve as much of her memory for him as possible, and ensure that he is taken care of long after. This go-fund me will serve as a gift to Zeus, from all of those that loved his mama. And from those that became inspired by her spirit and her strength. While we know she would have given anything to be there as he grows up, this will ensure he lives the life she would have wanted to give him, to cover the major life endeavors she would have wanted to be apart of and give him herself, and see him do the things she dreamed of him doing. Zeus will be able to access his protected funds when he turns 18.

Thank you all for your support, she would be so moved to see how many hearts she touched in this short period we had with her. Our lives are forever impacted by knowing her. We hope she can continue to inspire others and with this information, bring more awareness to graft-versus-host disease, to save a life.

Forever in Our Hearts

Zenaida will always be remembered for her strength, her vibrance, her fierce love for family, and her caring spirit.

Though her time here was far too short, her light continues to shine in her son, her family, and all who were blessed to know her.

️ “Those we love never truly leave us. They live on in the kindness they showed, the comfort they shared, and the love they brought into our lives.”

Obituary

Zenaida Marlene Corona, lovingly known as Zee or Little Zee, was born on December 22, 1999, in San Jose, California, and passed away on October 24, 2025. She spent her life in Hayward and San Jose, where her strength, intelligence, and vibrant personality left an unforgettable mark on everyone who knew her.

Zenaida had a strong and independent spirit. She was a fierce advocate for herself and her loved ones — ambitious, determined, and deeply thoughtful. She was exceptionally bright, with a natural gift for debate and an incredible memory. She also was artistically inclined and loved fashion, make-up, and nails.

Her thoughtfulness showed in countless ways, especially in how she loved to shower her friends’ children with gifts — often “just because.” Zenaida found joy in music, concerts, festivals, and traveling, but her greatest happiness came from making precious memories with her beloved son, Zeus. He was her world, her purpose, and the brightest light in her life.

Family and Loved Ones

Zenaida is survived by her son Zeus Baeza; her father Sylvester Corona; her mother Michele Dillon; her sisters Vanessa Corona and Rissa; her brothers Miguel Rivas and Joshua Sosa; her sister-in-law Alexia Rivas; her nephews Tommie and Hiyami, and her niece Clementine; her grandparents Maria Elena Miller, and Joe and Kitty Dillon; along with her extended family and countless friends who will forever hold her close in their hearts.

Message from the Family

The Corona and Dillon family would like to extend their deepest gratitude for the outpouring of love and support received during this difficult time. Your generous donations, thoughtful prayers, and kind messages have brought comfort and strength as we mourn the loss of our beloved Zenaida. Every word, gesture, and prayer has reminded us how deeply she was loved and how many lives she touched. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing by our family and honoring her memory with such compassion and care.