Juan Castro

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has supported our family throughout everything we have been through. When we originally started this GoFundMe, I never imagined that our story would end this way. I kept hoping that somehow Kerry would get stronger, that we would get her home, and that eventually we would be able to look back on all of this as something we made it through together. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the outcome we were given. Since losing Kerry, the amount of love and support that Mateo and I have received has been overwhelming. So many of you have donated, shared this page, reached out, brought us food, checked on us, helped with Mateo, participated in fundraisers, and offered to help in ways I never would have thought to ask for. I don’t know that I will ever be able to properly thank everyone. Your generosity has given me something incredibly valuable right now: some breathing room. It has allowed me to focus on Mateo, grieve the loss of my wife, and begin figuring out what life looks like for the two of us moving forward without having to immediately worry about everything else at the same time. I also want to be transparent about how the purpose of this fundraiser is changing. When this GoFundMe began, the hope was that the funds would help us manage the financial impact of Kerry’s hospitalization, treatment, and hopefully her recovery. Now, with Kerry’s passing, our needs have changed. The funds raised will help with memorial and end-of-life expenses, household expenses while I take the time I need to be with Mateo and adjust to this new reality, and the ongoing costs of caring for him and maintaining as much stability and normalcy in his life as possible. Anything beyond our immediate needs will be used thoughtfully with Mateo’s future and our family’s long-term stability in mind. I want everyone who donated to know that I don’t take any of this for granted. Every donation, whether it was $5, $20, $100, or more, represents someone who cared enough about Kerry and our family to help us through an incredibly difficult time. And to everyone who couldn’t donate but shared our story, sent a message, said a prayer, attended or organized a fundraiser, brought us a meal, or simply checked in on us — you have helped too. Most importantly, thank you for loving Kerry. One day, I hope I can show Mateo all of this and help him understand just how many people showed up for his mom and for him when our family needed it most. I want him to know how deeply his mom was loved and how many people were there to help carry us when we couldn’t do it alone. There really aren’t words big enough for what all of this has meant to us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for carrying us through this. Juan & Mateo ❤️

It’s incredibly difficult for me to write this update. Kerry passed away on October 3rd. After everything she fought through over these past several weeks, we were able to spend her final days close to home in hospice. She was comfortable, surrounded by love, and I was able to sit with her, hold her hand, and play the music she loved. When we originally started this GoFundMe, we were preparing for a very different road. We hoped Kerry would recover enough to continue treatment and eventually make it to transplant. Your support helped us tremendously while I spent as much time as possible by her side and we navigated everything that came with her hospitalization. Sadly, our road has changed. I want to be transparent about how the funds raised will help us going forward. Contributions will now help with Kerry’s final and memorial expenses, outstanding expenses from this incredibly difficult period, and the financial impact of taking time away from work. Most importantly, they will give me some breathing room to be there for Mateo as we begin figuring out what life looks like without his mom. I don’t quite know what the next few weeks or months are going to look like yet. Right now, I’m trying to take things one day at a time and make sure Mateo has as much stability, love, and support around him as possible. To everyone who has donated, shared this fundraiser, brought us food, raised money for us, sent a message, prayed for Kerry, played a song for her, or simply checked in — thank you. There aren’t words for how much your support has meant to our family. Kerry was incredibly loved. I want to make sure Mateo grows up knowing just how much his mom loved him and how many people loved her. Thank you for helping us through this next chapter.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this update, and honestly, I still don’t really know how. Today we received some very difficult news. Kerry was supposed to have dialysis this morning, but her kidney doctor did not feel it was safe to continue. Her potassium was too low, and there was concern that continuing dialysis could put her at risk of cardiac arrest. After talking with her doctors and the palliative care team, we have made the decision to transition Kerry’s care to keeping her as comfortable as possible. Her feeding tube has been removed, which I know she would want because she absolutely hated that thing. Right now the focus is simply on making sure she is comfortable, peaceful, and surrounded by the people who love her. I don’t know what the next few days will look like. I’m hoping to get her moved to hospice closer to home tomorrow so that Mateo and I can be near her as much as possible. I’m going to play her favorite music, sit with her, talk to her, and just be there. I also want to say thank you. So many of you have followed Kerry’s fight, prayed for her, donated, shared our story, brought us food, raised money for our family, sent messages, and supported us in ways I will probably never be able to fully repay. Right now I don’t really have the words for much more than that. Please keep Kerry in your thoughts and prayers. ❤️

❤️Kerry Update ❤️ Today has been another difficult day, and we received some tough updates from both Kerry’s liver and kidney teams. Kerry is extremely tired and confused today, and she pulled out her feeding tube again. Her liver transplant evaluation is currently on hold because she simply isn’t strong enough right now. The goal is to get nutrition into her, rebuild some of the muscle she's lost, and get her strong enough to participate in PT so the evaluation can hopefully move forward again. We also learned that Kerry had difficulty tolerating dialysis yesterday. Her blood pressure kept dropping, and they had to stop about 30 minutes early. Her kidney doctor told me they’ll try again tomorrow and continue doing everything they can to help her tolerate it. If she does well, the plan is to continue dialysis three days a week. Tomorrow marks four weeks since Kerry started dialysis. Her kidney doctor does not expect her kidneys to recover enough in the near future and believes she will likely need a kidney transplant in addition to a liver transplant. That makes getting her stronger and keeping the transplant path open even more important. There are still so many unknowns, and right now we’re taking this one day at a time. We’re hoping she can tolerate dialysis tomorrow, get the nutrition she desperately needs, and start rebuilding enough strength to keep moving forward. I also want to share something pretty incredible that happened this weekend. The Kilted Buffalo, Penny Lane, and 3 Moms & A Sub all stepped up and held fundraisers for Kerry and our family. At a time when it feels like so much is out of our control, seeing people in our community show up for us like this has been overwhelming in the best possible way. To everyone at those businesses who organized the fundraisers, donated, shared Kerry’s story, stopped by, or simply asked how she was doing... THANK YOU!! You helped our family during one of the hardest periods of our lives, and we won’t forget it. And thank you to everyone who continues to pray for Kerry, check in on us, share this page, and support our family. We still have a difficult road ahead, but we’re incredibly grateful we don’t have to walk it alone. ❤️ Please keep Kerry in your thoughts and prayers, especially as she goes into dialysis again tomorrow.

A Tougher Day for Kerry It’s been a few days since I’ve shared an update, and today was a tougher day for Kerry. She was extremely tired and seemed more confused and not quite herself mentally. Her doctors noticed it as well and are keeping a close eye on her. She also continues to be incredibly weak, and her hands have been shaking quite a bit. One of my biggest concerns right now is her nutrition. She has very little appetite and today only managed an Ensure, a pancake, and some eggs. The doctors have discussed a feeding tube to help get her the nutrition she needs to regain some strength, but right now she is still refusing it. There have been improvements along the way, but days like today remind us she still has a long and difficult road ahead. We’re continuing to take this one day at a time. Thank you to everyone who has checked on us, donated, shared Kerry’s story, brought food, helped with Mateo, or simply kept our family in your thoughts. Your support has meant more than I can put into words. Please keep pulling for Kerry. ❤️

Today was a good day for Kerry. ❤️ She worked with physical therapy today and did great. She was up with the walker, working on standing and getting some strength back. After seeing how weak she’s been, watching her push herself like this was a really encouraging moment for us. Then Kerry decided she was done fighting with her hair getting tangled in all the lines and tubes. Her solution? Buzz it off. So now we’ve officially entered Kerry’s G.I. Jane era. And considering how hard she’s been fighting, the look seems pretty appropriate. ❤️ There’s still a very long road ahead, and we know how serious everything remains. But today we got to smile, laugh a little, and celebrate some real progress. That thumbs-up pretty much says it all. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for Kerry, check on us, share the GoFundMe, and support our family. We feel all of it, and it means more than I can put into words. G.I. Kerry reporting for duty. ❤️ Photos shared with Kerry’s permission.

Just wanted to share another quick update on Kerry. She is still fighting and remains very sick. Right now, the doctors are doing dialysis every day and trying to get as much of the extra fluid off of her as they safely can. They were able to remove about 3 liters overnight, which is good, but it caused her blood pressure to drop, and they had to increase the medication supporting it. They’ve been able to bring that medication back down some today. It’s a balancing act right now—getting the fluid off while keeping her blood pressure stable and trying to get her stronger so we can keep moving forward with the transplant process. There have been some good moments and some really scary ones, and we’re still taking things one day at a time. Thank you again to everyone who has donated, shared this, reached out, prayed, or just checked in on us. I can’t tell you how much the support has meant to me and our family. ❤️