Help Us Attend My Mom's Funeral in Chile

Hi, my name is Antonella and I am originally from Valparaiso, Chile. I moved to Colorado in 2017 with my mom's sister and since then, I have gone to high school and graduated with a 4.0 GPA worked at a nursing home for almost three years; and now I'm about to go into my second year at CSU honors program to become a social worker and hopefully an immigration lawyer in the future. My mom passed from respiratory acidosis and blood clots in her lungs this afternoon (7/30) after a life full of illnesses and worries. Once she was born, the doctors did not think she'd make it past 15, then past 25, and she got to live until 45. She's battled bone cancer, about 5 cardiac arrests, 22 surgeries while being allergic to anesthesia, a birth (me) that caused her to die for 8 minutes and 32 seconds and be in a coma for about a month. Once she woke up after having me, she lost all her recent memory and she would only remember everything before I was born. She could not recognize me or be a mom until about 6 years after I was born and even then, she still struggled with memory loss and having to learn to walk and read and speak all over again. This is just a fraction of everything my mom has had to go through and what I, as her daughter, have had to go through along with my aunt and my grandma. My mom was not only her disabilities, but she was also a reporter, a radio host with her own show, and a friend, a sister, a daughter, a hard worker, and a role model for many people, including me.

Because her death was so sudden, this has come at the worst financial time for me and my aunt due to her and her husband just spent their savings in buying a new house, so we have had to make a decision whether she only attends her funeral or I do. My mom was like a mother to my aunt before I was born and before she got extremely sick, so it's hard for both of us to miss it. We got lucky to be able to see my mom and my grandparents this pat Christmas, but my aunt and I have not been back to Chile in 5 years. I am trying to fundraise money to be able to buy my aunt's ticket there which is $1600+ due to how fast we need it and to help my grandma cover some expenses of the funeral because my family in Chile is very poor and they only make it every month because my aunt, generously, sends them money every month. We have decided (after making this go fund me) to have my aunt travel instead of me since we cannot afford to cover both tickets on top of the funeral costs and asking for both tickets worth of money is too much.

People that know me and my family or even my culture know that this is not something I would do, asking for money, but I have seen the generosity of people and I think I could use some kindness in a desperate moment for me and my family.

I thank you all in advance and I hope you all have a blessed life. My mom would thank you all as well as my family if I do make it to Chile. ❤️