On January 1st, 2009 The Palm Beach Post wrote the following article on Kaiya: Teen with cystic fibrosis waits for new lungs

December 26th, 2008 La Palma wrote an article on Kaiya.

 Read it here (Spanish):  Recaudan fondos para niña enferma

December 23rd, 2008 WPTV NewsChannel 5 did an interview with Kaiya.

See the interview here (opens a new window): Teen who needs double lung transplant inspires others

thank you for all of your support. My page needs to be updated
But I would like everyone to know that
I am currently out of the hospital. During my stay
At Shands hospitAl I gained 16 poundsa and
Counting. Thanks so much for all of the support.
With much love,...
Kaiya castillo

Again I wanted to show my gratitude and
Say thank you all so much for all the love
And support everyone has showed me. I
Wanted to wish everyone happy holidays.
If any one would like to talk with me personally
You can contact me at kaiyacastillo@yahoo.com
Thank you and I love you all

:)

an updated picture of me

I am so grateful for all of the love and support I have from all my friends and family. Thank you so much and I hope to see every one soon. I love you and will keep you updated

I've been in the hospital forever now. I can't wait to go home. At first I was nervous that I would go home and get sicker, but I am actually looking forward to being in my own room. I can't wait to see my friends. It will be nice to be able to walk in the kitchen and open my refrigerator when I want something to drink, instead of calling for the nurse (though I might call for my mom to do it for me...lol).

I guess I'm supposed to write how I feel. That's a hard one. I feel really tired. I hate to cough because it hurts so bad, but I know that coughing is probably the most important thing I can do to keep me from getting worse. I didn't have to sleep on the venti-mask (it's like a small ventilator with a face mask) last night and was off oxygen all day. That's a good thing.

I just can't wait to get new lungs. I want to know how it feels to laugh without coughing up my insides. I want to be able to walk to the bathroom without having to rest to catch my breathe. I want to be able to go to school and be a normal teenager. I want to be able to go to the mall and to the movies without oxygen. I want to dance like I used to do. I just want to live.

With nurse

Nurse checking Kaiya's breathing

NASA

Kaiya clowning around with aunt Zoe