In Loving Memory of Karen Lonh
Donation protected
Hello, first and foremost, the Lonh family would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support during these times. It’s not very easy for anyone to endure such a loss, we hurt for our mother, and father who should never see their first daughter suffer the way she did. Illness during a pandemic has by far been the most difficult unprecedented scenarios to deal with, in retrospect to the separation that it causes. Hospitals simply prohibits visitors and family members. One of the most important things that we were stripped away from was physically being able to be there with her. To hold her, to talk to her, to let her know that we love her.
Karen had contracted Covid-19 some time in the beginning of the pandemic back in March of 2020. Although mild symptoms, she overcame her situation and life continued. Fast forward to early December 2020, Karen was admitted into Cedar-Sinai on worries of her failing kidneys. For about two weeks her high blood pressure was monitored along with her blood work. Karen spent her 25th birthday in a hospital bed on December 15th. With her underlying conditions, Karen strived to make diet changes and a healthier living to accommodate her situation. She was doing absolutely stellar, losing weight and focusing on a no sodium diet. We spent a beautiful Christmas with our immediate family and her new perspective of life. She glowed in beauty and was the family mediator and kept things at home aligned. We are not a family that comes from money, and we don’t pretend to be. We are simply a family who came from nothing, both parent immigrants in the pursuit of happiness. She was a provider and invested in everything that assured a better life for us all. She is my biggest inspiration.
It wouldn’t be until mid-January that our mother and her would contract the illness. Bed rested for weeks and experiencing all the symptoms they both suffered together. As a family we made sure to safely accommodate their needs in any way possible. Our mother had thankfully fully recovered, but Karen’s condition worsened. An exclamation of chest pains and shortness of breath was alerting.
My sister Lauren had brought her to Lakewood Regional center on January 29th, 2021, where unknowingly she would live out the remainder of her life. For about two weeks we tried to keep in contact with her, keeping her spirits up. She was eager to come home angrily stating that we clean the entire house and bath our dog and cat. She said “I’m not fucking going through this shit again!” Without hesitation we did, we made sure it was perfect for her. Days have passed and she kept us informed on her condition, she went into respiratory distressed on Saturday February 6th, then and there she had to be on a BiPAP. The next day February 7th, I received a phone call that they would intubate her. This would be the last line of defense in hopes of recovery. At 6:57 PM I had received a missed call and voice message in hopes of good news. Unaware and in the care of my son, my heart sank, my words stumbling, my soul lifeless. Karen had passed away at 6:44 PM. I was so angry at the informality of the news, the unsympathetic tone in the nurse’s voice. My baby sister just passed and you leave a voicemail. He left a reminder of pain and an everlasting bearing of bad news.
What breaks my heart the most is that we fear that the funeral must be fairly small and intimate. It pains me that some very close friends may not be able to see her before her cremation. With the Covid guidelines and regulations, there's just not enough space to accommodate everyone. Along with many other families that are enduring a loss, we are unable to fully settle into a funeral home. We are hearing that if we’re unlucky we would not be able to have these services until March or April. We are still tirelessly in the works to contacting affordable places that can host her.
So today, as I write this and if you’ve read this far into my endeavoring words, we ask that if you have any loose change to donate, this will lift a huge financial burden. Our mother is no longer working and our father works in an unorthodox work place that does not provide time-off pay. The money will strictly go into funeral accommodations, fees, and any remaining medical bills that could not be covered.
We will also be hosting a very limited spaced candle light ceremony at our home this upcoming Saturday February 13th. We please ask that close friends try to not bring a plus one for our home is small and we can only allow so many people. Feel free to text Lauren for more information, or if anyone wants to talk please do not hesitate to call or text me.
Thank you, friends and families, for the light you have shined on Karen’s life. Let’s endure this together, because she wouldn’t want to see us in mourning, but yearning for a celebration of her life.
Sincerely,
Norman Lonh
Karen had contracted Covid-19 some time in the beginning of the pandemic back in March of 2020. Although mild symptoms, she overcame her situation and life continued. Fast forward to early December 2020, Karen was admitted into Cedar-Sinai on worries of her failing kidneys. For about two weeks her high blood pressure was monitored along with her blood work. Karen spent her 25th birthday in a hospital bed on December 15th. With her underlying conditions, Karen strived to make diet changes and a healthier living to accommodate her situation. She was doing absolutely stellar, losing weight and focusing on a no sodium diet. We spent a beautiful Christmas with our immediate family and her new perspective of life. She glowed in beauty and was the family mediator and kept things at home aligned. We are not a family that comes from money, and we don’t pretend to be. We are simply a family who came from nothing, both parent immigrants in the pursuit of happiness. She was a provider and invested in everything that assured a better life for us all. She is my biggest inspiration.
It wouldn’t be until mid-January that our mother and her would contract the illness. Bed rested for weeks and experiencing all the symptoms they both suffered together. As a family we made sure to safely accommodate their needs in any way possible. Our mother had thankfully fully recovered, but Karen’s condition worsened. An exclamation of chest pains and shortness of breath was alerting.
My sister Lauren had brought her to Lakewood Regional center on January 29th, 2021, where unknowingly she would live out the remainder of her life. For about two weeks we tried to keep in contact with her, keeping her spirits up. She was eager to come home angrily stating that we clean the entire house and bath our dog and cat. She said “I’m not fucking going through this shit again!” Without hesitation we did, we made sure it was perfect for her. Days have passed and she kept us informed on her condition, she went into respiratory distressed on Saturday February 6th, then and there she had to be on a BiPAP. The next day February 7th, I received a phone call that they would intubate her. This would be the last line of defense in hopes of recovery. At 6:57 PM I had received a missed call and voice message in hopes of good news. Unaware and in the care of my son, my heart sank, my words stumbling, my soul lifeless. Karen had passed away at 6:44 PM. I was so angry at the informality of the news, the unsympathetic tone in the nurse’s voice. My baby sister just passed and you leave a voicemail. He left a reminder of pain and an everlasting bearing of bad news.
What breaks my heart the most is that we fear that the funeral must be fairly small and intimate. It pains me that some very close friends may not be able to see her before her cremation. With the Covid guidelines and regulations, there's just not enough space to accommodate everyone. Along with many other families that are enduring a loss, we are unable to fully settle into a funeral home. We are hearing that if we’re unlucky we would not be able to have these services until March or April. We are still tirelessly in the works to contacting affordable places that can host her.
So today, as I write this and if you’ve read this far into my endeavoring words, we ask that if you have any loose change to donate, this will lift a huge financial burden. Our mother is no longer working and our father works in an unorthodox work place that does not provide time-off pay. The money will strictly go into funeral accommodations, fees, and any remaining medical bills that could not be covered.
We will also be hosting a very limited spaced candle light ceremony at our home this upcoming Saturday February 13th. We please ask that close friends try to not bring a plus one for our home is small and we can only allow so many people. Feel free to text Lauren for more information, or if anyone wants to talk please do not hesitate to call or text me.
Thank you, friends and families, for the light you have shined on Karen’s life. Let’s endure this together, because she wouldn’t want to see us in mourning, but yearning for a celebration of her life.
Sincerely,
Norman Lonh
Organizer
Lauren Lonh
Organizer
Artesia, CA