Funeral Expenses

In January Mom was admitted to the hospital for nausea and vomiting.  She hasn't returned home since.  At that time, her bloodwork showed decreased red and white blood cells as well as decreased platelets.  A bone marrow biopsy was performed and Mom was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MDS.  She was at a high risk for the disease to transform into acute leukemia.  She underwent one round of chemotherapy, and soon thereafter began with many side effects that had her in and out of the hospital including multiple antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections, extreme nausea and vomiting, swelling of her legs and most recently arms, and loss of feeling in her extremities preventing her from such things as feeding herself, picking up a telephone, or using her emergency button to call for a nurse.  She underwent the placement of a stent in her esophagus to aid in swallowing, as that has increasingly gotten worse as well.  She was admitted to the hospital again about 2 weeks ago and her oncologist noticed her platelets were plummeting while her white blood count was exponentially increasing.  Up to that point, she had undergone multiple blood transfusions and received several rounds of platelets.  At that time, her doctor ordered further testing and confirmed what we feared, her disease had transformed into acute leukemia.  After a day or 2 of taking into consideration how she'd already suffered from just 1 round of chemotherapy and yet the disease had progressed, she decided she didn't want to continue this way.  This was wholly her decision, as well it should have been.  Her oncologist told me the life expectancy of untreated acute leukemia is 4-6 weeks, however things seem to be moving along more quickly which is not surprising given the track record of the past few months. They have been very difficult for her and she is ready for no more suffering.  Unfortunately as we began to get her affairs in order a couple months ago, we discovered she did not have a life insurance policy.  We promptly signed her up for one, however it seems it was too little, too late.  We were never expecting to have to navigate this path so quickly.  Friday she was transferred to the inpatient Hospice Unit where we expect she will peacefully and hopefully painlessly sleep away and be reunited with her family that has passed before her.   My husband, myself, and our little family are her only existing kin, as I'm an only child as is she.  This has been a trying time and to discover the absence of life insurance has been another obstacle.  We unfortunately cannot afford to cover the cost of an entire funeral on our own and at this time are seeking any assistance you may be able to offer so we can help lay Mom to rest properly.  At this time she does have a burial plot with her parents which I've been able to track down and ensure that she does have access and rights to.  As far as other funeral arrangements, it's also been tough as I was never able to find out her specific final wishes, aside from her wanting a Catholic Mass.  Thank you for taking the time to read our story and we are appreciative of each and every one of you.  We are now praying for peace and comfort for her.