My cousin, Daryl lost his wife, Zillah on May 31, 2016.  Zillah have been partners for 17 years.  Zillah leaves behind three young boys 6, 8 and 9 years old. 
     Zillah died while visiting family in Uganda.  Daryl spoke to his wife on his layoverbetween Brussels and the US.  Some of his last words to her were "I love you". Little did he know that this would be the last time he would speak to her.  He landed in the US to frantic calls from family informing him that she had collapsed and died.  He got back on the plane the following day and picked up the boys.  He was heartbroken that he was not able to see her buried because of family beliefs but knew he had to be strong for his sons.   He turned around three days later and returned to the US. 
     While in Uganda, two days before returning home, Noah, their oldest son, experienced occasional episodes of coughing up blood.  Daryl prayed to make it back to the US.  Noah has complex congenital heart disease and has undergone multiple heart surgeries.  He had been stable for the last 4 years.  He was taken to hospital immediately upon arriving into the US and found to have bleeding in his lung felt secondary to his heart diseae.  He had heart surgery on 6/7/16 and is recovering.
     The family is planning a memorial service but has to wait until Noah is out of the hospital.  Daryl is unsure of when he will return to work.  
     Moving forward, Daryl will have to find summer and other child care and plans to pursue family counseling.  Daryl's extended family know that any support would be greatly appreciated.