In Memory of Mary Mullins

Hello,

My name is Brandi Mullins, and my mother was an amazing woman by the name of Mary Mullins. She was the strongest woman I've ever known. She was so incredibly kind and helpful and loving to everyone. When she began to pass, I received texts and calls all day, every day giving me and her prayers and best wishes.

The day after Thanksgiving last year, she began to have memory lapses. She was in the hospital for 2.5 days where they told her she had stage 4 cancer. A month later, she had another episode and another hospital stay, this time for 4 days while she had a brain biopsy that confirmed stage 4 melanoma. She fought as hard as she could for 3 months, enduring radiation, med cocktails, and increasingly difficult side effects. She broke her back a week before her passing and was in severe pain. She had always wanted to pass away at home with our three beloved cats, but unfortunately, her decline was so quick that she was not able to make it home.

She passed on February 19th, 2024 at 8:20 am.

In the process of settling her affairs and planning her memorial and cremation, I discovered that her life insurance plan had not reached maturity. The anniversary of her plan was to be June 1st, so because she passed before then, I will only get about $1,400 instead of the full $10,000. Not only that, but because I need a death certificate to file the life insurance claim, I need to have her cremated first, but in order for the cremation services to happen, I need to pay out of pocket and then be reimbursed with the life insurance. I applied for the County of Denver burial and cremation fund, however, because she has a life insurance plan, I will get nothing, even though the life insurance can't go through until I get the death certificate from the cremation service. I feel like a dog chasing its own tail right now.

It is astonishing and baffling how a loved one's family is leeched off of at the time of their passing. Even though I chose the most affordable cremation service, it will still cost close to $1,000. $1,000 that I do not have, and even if I did have it, that is money that I need to continue to stay afloat until I can be more financially stable now that I am a 1 person/1 income household. My entire life it has been just me and my mother. We have taken care of each other and shared our income. Now it is just me and I have to make sure I don't drown as I settle her affairs.

Asking for help has always been something we struggled with, but now at this point in my life, I am not ashamed to say that I need help. I need the help of friends, family, and loved ones and from anyone who cares and is willing to hear our story. Whatever you can give helps. I am grateful for anything, even $1. If you took the time to read this and can't donate, I am still grateful to you for even giving me your time. Please share this with whoever you can.

God bless you and please tell your loved ones how much you care about them because you never know how much time anyone has left. Cherish them and spend time with them.

Thank you for listening.