On Saturday, June 19th of 2021, my younger sisters and I unexpectedly lost our mother Layna and our father Adam inside of our home.

With my mother’s passing she leaves behind me and my two younger sisters, as well as our three older brothers.

Due to the sudden loss of our parents, we are struggling to provide the funds for my mother’s funeral and supporting her children who now live on without them.

Our mother was the embodiment of motherhood. She was a nurturer, a provider, a caretaker, and above all, she was our best friend. Nothing would have ever prepared us for the devastation that came with her unexpected loss.

She not only provided for us, but gave back to her community. She worked in law enforcement, following in the footsteps of her dad who was a chief of police, later moving on to being a certified nursing assistant to the elderly. Eventually, she found her calling in pilot car services, driving all around Florida escorting oversized loads in her big blue truck with pride (of course, making sure the color perfectly matched that of the Florida gators). So much pride, in fact, that she recently drove to Myrtle Beach, SC, and back during our grandfather’s passing without letting anyone take the wheel, regardless of how exhausted and heartbroken she was.

Our mom was a fighter, and she lived by that everyday. Her loss is crippling, and figuring out what our lives look like without her, and without our dad, is terrifying. The reality and responsibilities that come after their loss is nothing we could have prepared for, and a return to normalcy feels unattainable.

Working through what is left to support my family and I is going to be a long process. In the meantime, the reality of life and the cost of living build for the three kids who are left without the familiarity of their home and parents.

These donations will be put towards laying our mother to rest and the expenses of the three children dependent on those they lost. After funeral costs, in these next few months any donations will be put towards paying for necessities such as food, clothes, medical care, schooling, and the basic living needs of the children.

It is difficult to ask for help for something that we are trying to manage in a private way, but asking for help seems like our only option. We know the community our parents raised us in, and we know we are supported through this.

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, and the endless amount of love and guidance through these moments of grief and heartbreak. The world is a darker place without our parents, but we hope to carry on their light throughout our community.