Immediate Expenses Support for Our Mother's Funeral

On 4 July 2025, our beloved mother, Ksenija, passed away suddenly and without warning at the age of 58; just one month shy of her birthday, and on the birthday of her late sister, who passed from cancer two years ago. Her loss has left us, her children, parents, family, and friends, devastated and in disbelief.

While our mother had been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for years, her condition had been stable. She remained vibrant, active, and deeply engaged with her team at work. She was full of plans: to visit us, her son and son-in-law, in the Netherlands this September, and to accompany her parents, our grandparents, who are 80 and 93 years old, respectively. She was looking forward to walking her daughter down the aisle in the absence of our father, and to celebrating her daughter’s 30th birthday next year.

She was the steady heart of our family. Just days before her passing, she was caring for her mother after a major surgery, and supporting her father through this difficult time. She was selfless, always putting others' needs before her own. Our final conversation with her was filled with love as it had always been. The last words we exchanged were the ones she always used to end our calls: “I love you infinitely.”

Our mother gave us infinite love, empathy, and support. Now, we are faced with the overwhelming pain of having to say goodbye too soon, and the heavy financial burden that comes with an unexpected funeral.

Due to her illness, our mother was unable to obtain affordable life insurance. Most of her savings went to supporting her family, helping her children through university and supporting her parents in their old age. As her death was unexpected and occurred during a period of high stress and summer heat, it has been treated as a natural death, but still must go through an extended formal review by the authorities due to her young age. This process delays access to her accounts and funds, leaving us, her children, to manage all immediate costs on our own.

We have used our personal savings and postponed my sister’s wedding to cover the funeral. However, we are still facing several urgent and high expenses in the coming days, costs we simply cannot meet without help. Out of love and respect, we are doing everything we can to avoid burdening our elderly grandparents or placing debt on our partners, especially as we are both still repaying our student loans.

We never imagined we would have to ask for financial help in such a personal moment. Thus, any support, whether financial or simply a message of solidarity, means the world to us. Every donation will go directly toward covering funeral and administrative costs, ensuring we can honour our mother’s memory with the dignity, love, and peace she so deeply deserves.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, your kindness, and your love during this time. Hearing your stories about the warmth and light our mother brought into the world has helped us begin to comprehend just how deeply she touched the lives of others.

With gratitude and infinite love,

Andy & Chiara