Loss of a young mom in childbirth

Hello. I've created this fundraiser in the hope of gathering support for my dear friend's son, Kyle Bennett, as he navigates the profound loss of his life partner, Melissa Harrison.

On Sunday, August 14th, Melissa had just given birth to their healthy baby boy, Nolan, at their Scugog home near Port Perry, Ontario. Moments later, Melissa suddenly had difficulty breathing and passed away within two minutes. The likely cause of her death was a pulmonary embolism.

After five years together, Kyle, Melissa, and Melissa's seven-year-old son, Sebastian, had been so excited to extend their family! They counted the days and had the next chapter of their life all planned out. Melissa had just celebrated her 28th birthday in July. She would stay home with the kids, continuing to home school Sebastian, nurturing and celebrating him and the new baby through all their milestones, and creating a warm and loving home for her family. Kyle would continue working long hours growing his successful business as a self-employed contractor in landscaping and construction while being the best partner and dad a man could be. Everything was on track—until it wasn't.

Now, their world has turned on its axis. Kyle has to forge a new path forward without his soul mate, as a single Dad to a newborn and an ongoing cornerstone in Sebastian's life. And Sebastian and Nolan have to spend their life without their beautiful mom. In short, this tragedy has cast a shadow on every aspect of the family's life, and finding their way back to a new normal will be a long, tiring, and expensive process.

I'm sharing this sad story in the hope that we can work together to help offset the monetary cost of this tragedy.

Any small contribution will make a difference. And even if you can't donate, it would be greatly appreciated if you could share this story with your contacts. Thank you!