Hobbs boy surrounded by love after loss
Chrstina Holt/News-Sun
DALLAS, Texas — The 10-year-old Hobbs boy who lost his mother, Megan Runnels, in a fire last month is now living with the Cardona family in the Dallas, Texas, area – a decision made by his mother in her final moments.
Sammy and Yoli Cardona say they want to thank the community for its outpouring of support and for donations totaling about $11,000. They also want to clarify why Runnels chose them as guardians of her son, Castiel.
“A lot of people were confused about why Meagan gave us guardianship…,” Yoli said. “Megan and my brother were married and had a boy together, Marcellus. My brother and Marcellus live with us.”
The Cardona’s said they were able to visit Runnels in the hospital before she died and accepted her final wishes to raise Castiel and to keep her boys together.
“That was her biggest thing, to make sure the boys were taken care of and that the boys would stay together,” Yoli said.
The doctors gave Runnels a one percent chance of surviving the burns she received on 98 percent to her body. If she did survive, she would have lost her hands and feet.
Yoli said Runnels didn’t think she would have a good quality of life if she survived and had accepted God’s will. But Runnels needed to make sure her boys were taken care of before she died.
“Her strength was amazing,” Yoli said. “I can’t say enough about how much I admire the strength that she had. It was absolutely amazing the things she was able to do before she died.”
Castiel and Marcellus were able to say goodbye to their mother a couple of hours before she died.
The Cardona’s said their goal is to make sure Castiel is raised with his brother Marcellus, provide a stable home and to help him with the trauma he endured.
“We will get him with someone to help him with trauma counseling. We know he went through a lot and saw a lot,” Yoli said. “We know we will have to get some counseling as well to give him the support he needs.”
A GoFundMe account was set up to help raise funds for the legal process of the Cardona family maintaining guardianship of Castiel.
“Her lawyer is going to help us with whatever we need to do to maintain guardianship but we are not sure adoption is the way,” Yoli said.
The GoFundMe account has raised $7,890 out of the $9,000 they are requesting to assist with legal fees.
People from the communities of Hobbs and Dallas have raised several hundred dollars in support of Castiel and his new beginning in Texas.
“There have been so many people reach out to us daily,” Sammy said. “It’s been tough trying to thank everybody for their donation, kind words or prayers.”
An Amazon Wish List was created for Castiel because his 10th birthday was six days after his mother’s death.
“Everyone wanted to make sure he had the best birthday ever,” Yoli said.
At one point, there were upwards of 20 Amazon boxes sitting at the Cardona’s front door consisting of clothes and toys. Castiel arrived in Dallas with only the clothes he had on but, with the donations, he has everything he needs now, the Cardona’s said.
“We have been extremely blessed with the support that we have from our family and friends,” Yoli said. “Everyone has been so great and has showered this kid with love and gifts. We didn’t expect this. It’s been so amazing and heartfelt. I know Megan would be so proud of the support we’ve received.”
A friend of Runnels from New Mexico raised $450, her church family in Hobbs raised $350 and a member of her softball team raised $2,500, Yoli said.
“A reporter in San Antonio covered the story and shared the GoFundMe account and Amazon Wish List. A country artist out of San Antonio did a fundraiser, too,” Yoli said.
“I want people to know the boys are together and have a solid foundation with us,” she said. “We are happy he is a part of our family. We are honored that Megan chose us to do this for her boys. We are happy to take on the challenges ahead. It’s a terrible tragedy but a great story of how everyone has come together.”
A funeral service for Runnels will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21 at El Shaddai Ministries Church in Hobbs.
The January deaths of Megan Runnels and Antwain Bates are still under investigation by the Hobbs Police Department. The News-Sun has filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with HPD for the final report of the ongoing investigation
