Christian Samuel Castro

   Our Christian was born with the odds stacked against him as a premature 25-week-old baby boy, weighing one pound, six ounces and measuring twelve inches long. Being a premature birth he spent four months in the hospital before he was able to come home. Christian had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, asthma, and dystonia by the time he was a year old and over the next few years he was also diagnosed with scoliosis. He was hospitalized with numerous infections, surgeries, and from all that came many follow-up visits; however all of these things never defined him. Although he would never walk or speak, his family learned to read his facial expressions, body tone, and other distinctive markers. Our boy proved to be a fighter and continued to beat the many health illnesses over the next 27 years of his life. He was loved by his family, especially his mother and Maternal Grand-Parents, they never left his side and fought for him to have every opportunity in life, they participated and witnessed every milestone. Christian began school at the age of three and he loved every minute of it! He graduated in 2018 from the Jo Kelly School for children with severe disabilities. It was there he soared and blossomed and proved he was more than enough, he had purpose, he earned his place for an education, and he was fearless. He loved the entire staff at his school, everyone was special to him, and he looked forward to attending school with excitement. He was the first one up in the morning waiting to be dressed, with the biggest smile on his face and always ready to start his day. If Christian had his way, school would be open seven days a week with no school breaks.

   Some of Christian’s memorable attributes were his beautiful brown eyes, his contagious smile that would light up a room, he had the best disposition anyone could have.  He was patient, kind and he never once displayed anger towards anyone.  You see he was his family’s perfect little guy. His Grandma Honey would tell him he was her little heartbeat, he was her lifeline. Over the years his family and friends gave him specific knick-names such as Mr. President, Christian Poo, C.C., Papi Chulo, Daddy Boy, Mi Corazon, my Buddy and my little angel, the list goes on and on. You see, Christian impacted all of those around him and he didn’t even know it.

   Christian really enjoyed watching his favorite movies. Just to name a few: Home Alone, Americas Funniest Home Videos and so many Disney animated movies. He really loved having his mom sit with him and together they would watch his favorites together for hours. But his real LOVE was watching the Dallas Cowboys play football, so much so that his school prom theme was Dallas Cowboys. His favorite college team was TCU, they also caught his attention. Regardless of the outcome of the game, Christian remained a loyal fan of The Boys.

   Christian was a gift, he had a purpose to fulfill in this life and though he struggled and endured many health hardships, he continued to motivate his family to be more, to do more and appreciate the opportunities life had to offer without knowing he was their inspiration.