Mother helps raise over $1 million for her children ahead of her death
A single mother from America has left an enduring financial legacy to her two young children in the weeks before her untimely death.
Erika Diarte-Carr, 30, started a GoFundMe page after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in order to cover costs of her own funeral, as well as providing funds to raise her two kids, Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5.
After setting the fundraising goal for $5,000 USD, generous members of her community spread the word of her selfless actions, with the fundraiser now reaching over $1.7 million USD and counting.
Titled “Support Erika: A Mother planning her own funeral”, the page has garnered more than 38,000 individual donations.
The page reads, “Dear family, friends and to all of those of you who may or may not know know me..."
“My name is Erika Diarte-Carr. I am 30 years old and a single mother of two beautiful children. Jeremiah (7) and Aaliyah (5). ❤️ They are my whole life, light and soul. My children are my fight and what keep me going.”
The mother then shared the tragic details of her cancer journey, as she recalled being diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer in May 2022 after presenting for “normal shoulder surgery”.
“By that point, the damage had already been done. In that moment, mine and my kids’ entire lives had changed forever, as well as all of those around us,” she wrote.
On top of her cancer diagnosis, Erika was hit with another blow in January 2024 as she was diagnosed with Cushing's Syndrome, which resulted in rapid weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, and further debilitating symptoms the mother claimed had “taken so much away” from her family.
The page was updated in mid-September upon advice Ms Diarte-Carr had just three months to live and that treatments would “no longer help”.
The mother added to the GoFundMe page how the excess funds would be allocated, writing, “For anyone’s concern, all the funds that have exceeded my funeral costs goal will be now put into a trust fund for my babies that way I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up."
On October 4th, the mother thanked donors and announced she and her family were able to take one final trip together hoping to leave her kids with “memories that’ll last a lifetime”.
Just days later, Erika's cousin shared a post to social media to announce that Erika had passed away on October 12th.
“It is with a heavy heart that this is the final update I will be giving for my cousin Erika,” she wrote on Facebook.
“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.”
Image credits: GoFundMe