Helping Pay for My Father Urosh's Funeral

Hello, my name is Anna Urosevich Applegate. My 81-year-old father, Urosh ("Junior") Urosevich, passed away shockingly on January 14, 2022, from a sepsis infection that no medical professional responsible for his Alzheimer's care bothered to disclose to my mother and me. In 2020, I had to withdraw from the workforce in my chosen field and move from my home so that I could move in with both of my elderly parents and serve as their live-in caregiver/home health care aide. My hours by my new home healthcare employer were capped at part-time billable hours each week for tending to my dad as a Non-Hodgins Lymphoma and Alzheimer's patient and my 82-year-old mother as a patient with Parkinson's Disease. My hourly pay is below state minimum wage, and I am overwhelmed by my father's final medical expenses in the ICU where he died as well as the cost of his funeral, which was held on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Despite my efforts at keeping casket, graveside flower arrangement, and other funeral costs to a minimum, I am looking at a balance owed of $11,000 to Burnett-Dane Funeral Home of Libertyville, Illinois. This balance does not include the $1,000 private ambulance fee to take my mother with Parkinson's to and from the church and cemetery the day of the funeral. I have already paid that in full as a separate expense. I am the party responsible for paying these costs.

It brings my mother and me great shame to have to resort to this, but we are grateful for any donation amount that can help defray these unexpected and staggering costs. Due to COVID restrictions and the severity of a Chicago winter, we could not have held as large a memorial gathering for my father as we would have liked. I know my Dad, who was so proud to have worked at Mack Trucks Inc. for 34 years of his life, was a very popular man in his industry and within the wider immigrant community of Serbian/ex-Yugoslav emigres to which he and my mother belong in the greater Chicago area. He loved being the life of the party wherever he was, and I take comfort that I've inherited his strong work ethic, his can-do attitude and resourcefulness, his kindness towards all people and animals, and his love of international soccer and of gardening. I miss you so much, Tata!

Thank you to everyone reading this for your help and bless you for your generosity! Mom and I are deeply grateful.