A young Utah mother has raised more than $1 million for her own funeral after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Erika Diarte-Carr, 30, was given three months to live on September 18 and decided to create a GoFundMe to help ease the financial burden of planning your family’s funeral.
He was in the hospital for a shoulder injury in May 2022 when doctors diagnosed him with stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.
Over the next two years, she suffered a series of health problems and ultimately decided to stop treatment and focus on being with her family, including her two young children, Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5.
Carr decided to start her own fundraiser with a goal of $5,000, but received an outpouring of support from friends and strangers that has raised more than $1 million so far.
Erika Diarte-Carr, 30, was given three months to live on September 18 and decided to stop treatment and spend time with her children Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, in May 2022 and has since suffered a series of health problems.
‘It happened overnight. “I never expected that,” he said. ABC4. ‘I never expected to have a big funeral or for a lot of people to come up and help me. The way it’s gone, I’m in shock… so grateful for everyone and everything that’s been there.”
When he was diagnosed with cancer, Carr said doctors found multiple tumors that had metastasized to other parts of his body, including his skeleton.
‘At that point the damage was already done. In that moment, my entire life and that of my children had changed forever, as well as that of everyone around us,” he said on his fundraising page.
On January 17, she was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a hormonal disorder that occurs when the body is exposed to too much cortisol.
“It caused me other problems like swelling, not being able to walk, and also other health problems; most of my health problems are because of why I am as sick as I am now,” Carr told the local news station.
The young mother has raised more than a million dollars for her own funeral after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
In January she was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a hormonal disorder that occurs when the body is exposed to too much cortisol.
Then, on September 18, doctors told Carr she had three months to live and she was forced to decide whether she wanted to continue treatment.
‘They gave me a prognosis of three months to live if I stopped treatment. “So I decided to stop treatment because I had to use those last three months to spend with my children and make the most of them instead of getting sick from all the treatments and medications,” she said.
He now uses the rest of his time to create memories with his children and do everything he can to ensure they are taken care of in the future.
‘We’re planning things now like taking a family trip and making things we can have or keep when I’m gone, memories. We are planning a camping trip to our family’s land.
