On December 9th a little girl I have never met, never seen, and have never known entered my life. For the past week, she’s been one of the main focuses of my time.  An old-classmate of mines updated her Facebook status last week telling us she needed $35,000 for her 14-year old sister. I haven’t seen this classmate in years but to know that she had a sister who needed help, it peaked my interest. I learned a few minutes later that her sister’s name was Kaiya Castillo. Kaiya was born with cystic fibrosis. Kaiya needs a lung transplant because her lungs are failing and it’s hard for her to even breathe on her own.

The cost of health care in America in this terrible economy is nearly impossible for many to achieve on their own. Kaiya’s operation will cost $500,000. For her family to only be asking for $35,000 there’s a lot of that money coming out of their own pockets. Imagine the struggle on a family who is putting one child through college, the others through school, and one of their kids needs lungs to live. There is no price on life. $500,000 is a mere nothing for the life of a child.

Two years ago, in the early morning hours of November 3rd, my cousin passed away at the age of thirteen. She had a type of lymphoma which caused her health to steadily decline in less than a year. If you knew me, when I had Tragically-Kissed, you remember my heart being broken about it. My cousin’s parents could not afford her healthcare. They couldn’t afford to have their child airlifted to John Hopkins to live. By the time we got the help of the people at our church, she had been given a time period to live. She spent her thirteenth birthday in her SpongeBob pajamas (quite like Kaiya who’s favorite show is SpongeBob). After receiving a visit from Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, who she had wanted to meet for entire stay at the hospital, she passed away the next day.

I can’t bring her back. I know she would want me to do this to help Kaiya. I know she would never want any child to have to live their lives in a hospital in and out. I know she enjoyed traveling and being happy and laughing, simple things as laughing. Kaiya can’t even laugh without losing her breath. She can’t enjoy the life of a normal fourteen year-old. When I was fourteen, I was playing volleyball and laughing at lunch with my friends. Kaiya can’t enjoy these simple pleasures. She does need some help and I’m only asking you to pass this along. 

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