A 36-year-old mother of four from Richmond, Virginia, has died in Nairobi after a salmonella infection she contracted during a church mission trip took a fatal turn, her family has confirmed.
Ayla Garcia travelled to Kenya on June 30 alongside her mother, sister, aunt and uncle to support Zion Family, a children’s home for orphans, through Richmond’s Overflow Christian Church. Garcia, who lived with sickle cell disease, fell ill on July 11 after reportedly consuming contaminated ice, and was admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi on the advice of a local resident.
Her family said the infection spread aggressively, affecting her kidneys, liver and blood, and forcing doctors to place her on dialysis. She received at least four blood transfusions and later developed jaundice as her condition worsened. Doctors determined she was too unwell to fly home commercially and required a medical evacuation, a cost the family said exceeded $250,000.
With time running out and her mother needing medication back home, most of the family made the difficult decision to return to the United States, leaving her aunt and uncle behind to stay with her. A GoFundMe campaign, started by her sister Tabitha, drew support from more than a hundred donors.
“People really dug deep and they’re still digging deep,” Tabitha said. “We’re grateful because everyone’s contributed… we believe in prayers, so if a prayer’s all that can be given, thank you.”
The family said they believed Garcia’s condition was improving, only to be notified of her death around 11 p.m. on July 23.
“She was a kindhearted person and she was funny,” her mother, Patricia, said. “She was just so happy, go-lucky. She liked helping people.”
Garcia leaves behind four children: 16-year-old Kelly, 15-year-old Kyle, 7-year-old Patrick III and 4-year-old Priya. Her sister Tabitha said the children have struggled to understand her absence, repeatedly asking why their mother is not there.
The hospital has said it requires full payment for services rendered before Garcia’s body can be released to travel home, meaning the family’s fundraising efforts have now shifted toward covering the outstanding medical bill and repatriation costs. As of Friday, the campaign had set a target of roughly $28,000, equivalent to about Ksh 3.6 million, to help bring her home for burial.
