Help John with funeral expenses

Hi, my name is Melissa Paner. I am starting a go fund me for my brother John due to the unexpected loss of his wife Mary.

Their story:

Mary had a love for helping and fostering children in the 80s and 90s. She had a love for children in the special needs community as her brother had Down's Syndrome and later Prader Willie Syndrome along with many other illnesses. John and Mary started their Journey in Hamburg, NY just shy of 13 years ago. They met working as CNAs in the Erie County nursing home. From there, they continued in their journey of helping others and decided to start a new chapter in Florida. Mary continued to care for others in the field of nursing as she earned her LPN license in 2019.

Mary wasn't in perfect health. She did suffer with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus prior to the pandemic. Like everyone else, the Covid-19 pandemic brought John and Mary much hardship. Both caught Covid in December of 2020, but recovered well. As most health care workers and those around the country, were forced to get the vaccine to keep their jobs. Since that point, Mary's health started to decline. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, suffered 3 heart attacks, and her diabetes became uncontrollable. Her heart suffered major damage that she was unable to recover from. This led to increased stress and many hospital visits. In the month of October alone, John came home from work only to find Mary unresponsive due to respiratory failure. Mary's heart became too weak to pump efficiently, which caused the fluids to back up in her lungs. The stress on John continued to increase for the unknown with his wife and loss of Marys brother Bob in July 9, 2021, sister-in-law, November 28, 2021, and 2 cats.

On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, John came home from working a 16 hour shift and just laid down. An hour later, he woke up to a loud noise. He got up to see what was going on thinking it was one of the cats. Mary banged on the wall before losing consciousness and going into cardiac arrest. He attempted CPR measures and called 911. They worked on Mary for roughly a half hour before successfully bringing her back to life. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was placed on life support.

From there, the Doctors gave a rollercoaster effect of news. One day they found ways to preserve her life, and others they insisted on taking her off of life support to end her life. John did what any good/loving husband would do and fought hard in every way possible to save her life. Mary's heart function declined to a point where her lungs continued to fill with fluids despite being on the vent. On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, they decided to take Mary off the vent. They made sure she was comfortable to her last breath. She passed away a half hour later peacefully surrounded by her husband and 2 close friends.

I am reaching out to family, friends, and to the community for help during my brother's time of grief. Mary didn't have any death benefits and her quick decline didn't leave him much time for planning. I am reaching out to see if we can come together as a community to help John raise the money to give his wife a proper burial. The funeral home is requesting payment in full before proceeding with the cremation. If you find it in your heart to donate this holiday season, we cannot thank you enough. If you cannot donate, we understand and only ask that you share this fundraiser to help spread the word. Our family is appreciative of any help given. Thank you so much in advance and may God bless you all this holiday season.

Merry Christmas