Support a Grieving Family: Honouring Captain Grant’s Legacy

UPDATE on November 21: After just one week, we have reached our target thanks to your remarkable generosity. The additional contributions will be dedicated to supporting others in need, as well as the Rive-Neuve Foundation (palliative care center), where my husband spent the final four weeks of his life.

On behalf of Valentin and myself, thank you, deeply and sincerely.

On October 23, 2025, my husband, Captain Michel John Grant, passed away after a brutal 20-month battle with an orphan cancer.

Just 10 days before, I had lost my job, our family’s only source of income. Now, our 15-year-old son and I are facing the unthinkable: rebuilding our lives while grieving the man who anchored us.

Your support will help us honour Mike’s life with dignity, and build a bridge forward.

We are asking for help to cover funeral expenses, keep our home, and give Valentin a chance to heal without the added trauma of financial collapse.

Mike was more than my husband. He was a captain in the Merchant Navy, a man of impossible resilience, once declared dead after a fall at sea, kidnapped in Brazil, a helicopter crash survivor. He often said, “It won’t be cancer that gets me.” But it did.

He gave everything to his crew, his family, and to anyone who crossed his path. His laugh was infectious. His generosity, legendary.

In January 2024, I lost my job for the first time in 25 years. Days later, Mike was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, despite never smoking.

For 20 months, we fought every day. We shielded our son from the worst of it as long as we could. But slowly, the weight became unbearable.

On October 23, 2025, Mike passed away. He left behind not just memories, but a mission:

“Go get that top job. Rebuild. Take care of Valentin.”

I never imagined asking for this. But here we are.

Funeral costs, months of missed income, and the brutal reality of single parenting during grief have brought us to a breaking point.

We even had to leave our rented accommodation in mid-September when Mike was dying. He tried to help, as did our friends, but he clearly wasn’t able to, he could barely stand during the move. It was heartbreaking to witness. I felt terrible for imposing such a burden on him, but I had no other choice. We simply couldn’t afford the rent anymore.

We have no spare cash, only huge debts.

Your donation will help us:

• Cover funeral expenses already incurred.

• Keep the new ‘home’ during this fragile period.

• Allow Valentin space to grieve, not fear.

• Give me time to find sustainable work and rebuild.

This is not a donation to a tragedy.

THIS IS AN INVESTMENT IN A FAMILY THAT STILL BELIEVES IN LIFE AFTER LOSS.

In honouring Mike, we are not giving up, we are getting up.

Thank you for helping us do that.

PS: this page was created on Mike's birthday: 14 November