Leo Castillo’s Double Lung Transplant Journey: A Story of Strength and Faith

Leo Castillo with his wife Lesly and his two daughters, Gaby and Camila.

Leo Castillo, a Honduran immigrant who lives in Washington, DC, is a proud father and husband. His wife, Lesly and daughters Gaby, age 20 and Camila, age 17 always looked forward to seeing Leo when he got home from work. Known for his sense of humor, he would put a smile on everyone’s faces with his harmless jokes. They were a family strong in their faith, unaware of the journey that lay ahead.

The Beginning of Leo’s Story: Contracting COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it created feelings of uncertainty for millions of people across the world as healthy people were dying and many families were finding themselves in unthinkable situations. Unfortunately, in 2020, Leo and his family contracted the COVID-19 virus. Most of the family was okay, but the virus hit Leo hard, and he quickly found himself in the hospital.

His condition was grim as Leo was in a coma for almost three months at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. Lesly remembers seeing Leo for the first time in his hospital bed and hardly recognizing him. It was an extremely difficult time. Leo was worried about what would happen to his family if he were to die. He was the main provider and didn't want his family to be helpless without him.

At one point, doctors recommended to Lesly that they should remove Leo from the ventilator that was helping him breathe and that once they did, he would likely pass away. However, Lesly did not want to accept Leo's fate. She remained optimistic and turned to her faith, praying for Leo’s recovery.

Staying Strong in Faith: Leo Needs a Double Lung Transplant

Lesly describes this uncertain time in their lives as though it was divided into a before and after period: before Leo got COVID-19 and after. Nothing could have prepared her for how difficult it would be to face Leo’s declining health. She recalls how strong Leo and she had to be in such a difficult situation.

“You never know your true strength until it is tested in times like this. Luckily our faith and hope remained strong.” -Lesly

Lesly had a conversation with an intensive care unit doctor where she had the opportunity to talk about who Leo was: a father, husband and son. She explained how caring and kind Leo is, especially to his daughters. He meant everything to them. Lesly’s strength, positivity and belief in her faith that Leo would survive moved the doctor deeply.

This doctor assured Lesly the medical staff would do everything they could to keep Leo alive and restore his health. The hospital staff gave Leo blood transfusions, performed surgeries and more to give him the best chance at survival. After all those interventions, they decided to wait a few days to see if his condition improved. Since it did, it was suggested he be put on the national transplant waiting list for a double lung transplant. It was his only chance of long-term survival.

The doctor explained to Lesly there was a young woman in Chicago named Mayra Ramirez who was the first COVID-19 patient to receive a successful double lung transplant. Mayra’s success symbolized hope for Lesly and her family that Leo too could get his life and health back. Lesly and Leo met Mayra, and soon after Leo was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago in hopes of receiving a double lung transplant too.

His condition was so dire, he quickly moved up to be the first person on the lung waiting list. After eight days at Northwestern, Leo was notified that he would be the fourth COVID-19 patient to receive a double lung transplant.

Dr. Ankit Bharat, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Northeastern Medicine, performed Leo’s surgery, which lasted more than 10 hours. There was always a possibility that Leo could die during surgery, but no one spoke of what could happen. Everyone remained positive and optimistic that Leo would recover. This was a difficult time for Lesly and her daughters, but nonetheless they remained strong in their faith and turned to God.

Leo’s Time in the Hospital: His Journey to Recovery

For about a year after his double lung transplant, Leo couldn’t do much except focus on recovering and regaining strength. He faced many challenges he never thought he would encounter. Aside from his family, Mayra was one of the people who helped Leo see positivity and light during times of uncertainty.

She motivated him by being an example of what Leo could accomplish during his recovery. Mayra showed Leo she could walk up and down stairs, drive and do things on her own again, giving him hope. It did, and Leo slowly gained strength and recovered after a yearlong hospital stay. He felt his time in the hospital was necessary for his recovery and felt taken care of by the hospital staff while there. It has now been five years since Leo had his organ transplant.

When Leo returned home to DC, he was able to take over the reins of the household and spend quality time with Lesly and his daughters. Leo found new hobbies around the house including gardening and watering plants: truly appreciating his second chance at life. Leo will always feel grateful for his organ donor hero’s selfless gift.

“I thank God for my organ donor because they gave me more time to live, an opportunity to continue fighting for my family.” -Leo

Leo in Action: Advocating and Spreading Organ Donation Awareness

Leo is extremely thankful for God and his faith for giving him more time to live. He has since been able to spend more time with his family and friends. Leo wants to use his story to show how important a lifesaving transplant can be not only for the individual in need, but for their family as well.

Did You Know? You can save up to 8 lives and enhance and save more than 75 lives as an organ, eye and tissue donor.

If Leo could give one piece of advice, he would encourage others to register to be an organ donor. Leo is familiar with the myths and misconceptions surrounding organ donation, especially in his community and wants to share the facts with others. He says signing up to be an organ donor will not change your patient care and doctors will still do everything they can to save you.

“For me, it is wonderful to imagine giving life to another person after you are no longer living. What a great way to leave a legacy.” – Leo

Leo continues to use his story to spread organ donation awareness and to encourage others to register to be an organ donor. He even had the opportunity to share his story on NBC in DC and Baltimore and Telemundo 44 in DC. To hear more from Leo, check out his commercial on our YouTube Channel!