A 39-year-old Oregon father suffered a fatal heart attack as he sat next to his wife during a flight home from a birthday trip in South America — and his family is pleading for help in getting his body returned to the US.
Andres Castro “suddenly stopped breathing” during his return flight from Bolivia on Monday, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Colombia, his brother, Teo Ramirez, wrote on GoFundMe.
Emergency crews rushed the dad of one to a hospital, where it was too late and he was pronounced dead.
Castro leaves behind his wife, Suanny, son AJ, siblings and parents, the family shared.
“This is not a grief we ever imagined facing so soon,” the heartbroken brother said.
Castro and his wife were in the South American nation, celebrating each other’s birthdays and visiting his wife’s family before his tragic mid-flight death.
“We all miss him. We just can’t believe he’s gone,” Castro’s sister, Tiffany Castro, told KOIN. “I feel broken, our whole family, it’s hard, trying to keep it together the best that we can.”
The younger Castro said she’s never felt closer to her brother despite a 10-year age gap.
“It’s just hard to believe that he’s not here,” she said. “That’s all.”
Castro’s body remains in Colombia as his family is tasked with the unbearable effort of getting him flown back to Oregon for a funeral.
It could cost an estimated $25,000 for Colombian officials to prepare and transport Castro back to the US.
“It’s a process with the embassy and my family,” Tiffany Castro told the outlet. “We’re all just trying to work together to figure it out.”
The fundraiser was set up to help the “stretched thin” family, as the siblings have worked together to be the primary caregivers for their mother, who began suffering heart failure in April.
“We put our trust in God and know that He will provide a path forward. He always makes a way,” Ramirez wrote.
The family has reached out to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to help bring Castro home.
Wyden’s office is working with the family to navigate through the process with the US embassy in Colombia to ensure they have a proper funeral for Castro, according to KOIN.
The fundraiser, established on Monday, has raised nearly $14,800 of the $25,000 goal, as of Wednesday night.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you again for walking alongside us in this difficult journey,” Ramirez said.
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