OGDEN, Utah, Oct. 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Erika Diarte-Carr, reportedly told in September that she had three months to live, has died of terminal cancer, but not before achieving her last goal.
The 30-year-old single mom wanted to raise $5,000 to pay for her funeral, with any extra funds to help in the futures of her son and daughter, ages 7 and 5, she wrote in her fundraising post, issued on June 26.
Carr died knowing her efforts, and those of her supporters, had raised more than a million dollars when her GoFundMe campaign went viral. Newsweek magazine even shared her story in a Sept. 30 article. As of Saturday morning, the account had raised $1,166,217 from 37,927 donations.
“Praying for you, for your final days on this side of Heaven,” one donor wrote a little more than a week ago.
“May your kids have peace and joy in their hearts for the remainder of their lives, remembering you and being in excellent care. I’ll be praying for them and their caretakers.”
As in all cases, Gephardt Daily cannot guarantee GoFundMe funds will be used for the purposes stated. Carr’s page does have a “donations protected” emblem and link.
Carr’s cousin posted an update on a social media page in the early hours of Saturday. It was an Ogden-related page where multiple friends and former coworkers have reported knowing Carr, and where they and strangers had been cheering her on.
“It is with a heavy heart that this is the final update I will be giving for my cousin Erika,” Carr’s cousin wrote. “She has joined her mother Sylvia, her Brother J.J., her uncles Chava & Loui on the other side.
“She fought a long and hard battle. She was strong and held on as long as she could for her babies. I know she was so thankful for all of your support and love and prayers.”
Carr’s battle
Carr told her own story on the page. In September of 2022, she went to the emergency room with shoulder pain, and learned she had stage 4 terminal cancer, she wrote.
“By that point the damage had already been done,” Carr wrote. “In that moment, mine and my kids’ entire lives had changed forever, as well as all of those around us.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there…. On January 17th, 2024, I was diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome. Which has caused me so many other underlying issues such as rapid weight gain & swelling (60+ lbs in a matter of weeks), muscle and bone deterioration, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, Moon Face & so much more! This disease has already taken so much away from me and my family!”
She added an update to the account last month.
“September 18th, 2024 I had a Dr. Appointment with my oncologist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the best news. Due to my prognosis, I have decided to discontinue treatments as they will no longer help. I have been given three months to live. Three months to spend with my babies and loved ones. three months to make the best of what time I have left.
“During these next couple of months I need to make sure my kids will be OK after I am gone. I am faced now with the most difficult thing of planning my own funeral. Due to me not being able to work for months now I do not have any finances saved up or any life insurance set aside for this situation. I have looked into the expenses and I am needing to raise about $5,000 to ensure funeral costs are covered plus I’m wanting to leave something behind for my babies.”
It would turn out she would live less than one month. Carr made her last GoFundMe page update on Oct. 3.
“I want to first start off by saying thank you so much for your continuous love & support. I wanted to personally share an update on my situation right now. Thanks to your generous donation as of today me and the kids are now able to plan one big trip as a family that will leave them with memories that’ll last a lifetime.
“Other than that I can promise you that your help is going to keep my kids financially stable the rest of their lives as I am putting it all into a trust fund for them.”
There is no update to say if any trip was made in her remaining few days. Carr also wrote of her plan to do a live TikTok video when she was able, so she could address speculation her story was a scam.
“I want to make sure everyone knows that this in fact is unfortunately a real situation. I just please ask for your patience and time because even the simplest day to day things that come easy to you no longer is easy for me and some things tend to take me a lot longer and it’s a struggle to get things done in a timely manner.
“Please know how much of an impact your support and trust has had on not just mine but my kids’ lives in such a positive way! You’re truly an angel and I’m blessed to have gained your care, love, support, and prayers.”
