An Oregon man, aged 39, tragically passed away from a heart attack while on a flight back to the United States from a birthday celebration in South America. Andres Castro was traveling with his wife when he suddenly stopped breathing, prompting an emergency landing in Colombia. Despite the immediate response from emergency crews who rushed him to a hospital, Castro was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Castro’s untimely death has left his wife, Suanny, their son AJ, and his parents and siblings in deep mourning. His brother, Teo Ramirez, expressed the family’s shock and grief on a GoFundMe page set up to help with the costs of repatriating Castro’s body. “This is not a grief we ever imagined facing so soon,” Ramirez wrote.
The family had been in Bolivia, celebrating their birthdays and visiting Suanny’s family. Castro’s sister, Tiffany Castro, spoke to KOIN about the family’s struggle to come to terms with the sudden loss. “We all miss him. We just can’t believe he’s gone,” she said. “I feel broken, our whole family, it’s hard, trying to keep it together the best that we can.”
Tiffany also shared that despite a ten-year age difference, she had never felt closer to her brother. The family is now faced with the daunting task of bringing Castro’s body back to Oregon for a funeral. The estimated cost for Colombian officials to prepare and transport Castro back to the US is around $25,000.
The family is working with the embassy and has reached out to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for assistance. The GoFundMe fundraiser was established to help the family, who are already stretched thin as primary caregivers for their mother, who began suffering heart failure in April.
Ramirez expressed the family’s faith and gratitude in his GoFundMe post. “We put our trust in God and know that He will provide a path forward. He always makes a way,” he wrote. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you again for walking alongside us in this difficult journey.”
As of Wednesday night, the fundraiser had raised nearly $14,800 of the $25,000 goal. Wyden’s office is reportedly working with the family and the US embassy in Colombia to ensure a proper funeral for Castro.