My sister, Iliana, passed away on Saturday, February 12, 2022.

Not many people knew my sister was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis years ago. She hid it from a lot of people because she always wanted to appear to be strong. What seemed to be a manageable disease at first later became the monster that debilitated her life, her health, and her mind.

She was diagnosed with Covid-19 in mid-January. Iliana's symptoms worsened within days, and was taken by ambulance to Norwalk Hospital as her oxygen count became deadly low. At the hospital, it was discovered that she had developed Covid pneumonia in both her lungs. As the days passed, her health quickly declined and she was in alot of pain. She was doing everything she could to stay alive; she did not want to die.

Last week, it was discovered that her red blood cell count became deadly low. They gave my sister 3 hours of blood transfusion. She texted me letting me know she felt very sick from it. It seemed like her body rejected the procedure. She developed a deadly fever and was immediately moved to the ICU. She never came out of the ICU. My sister passed away only a few days later.

If you knew my sister, you knew how atheletic she was, always wanting to dance, go to festivals, and always had a beautiful smile across her face. She loved her career as a paralegal. She loved her friends, as there was nothing she wouldn't do for them. And most of all, she did love her family.

Pain changes people. It changed her and the sister I knew changed into a woman that suffered alot of pain. I now understand it was the little girl inside of her scared to die, angry she could no longer be that star athlete, dance the night away, and even simply walk around the mall stores without pain.

My sister's passing is completely unexpected and the family is devastated. And as you can imagine, we were unprepared for the expenses that come along with her funeral expenses.

If you can find it in your hearts to help us, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all and God bless.