Help Maxime Get Back Home

Help Maxime Get Back Home

For a brief moment, I felt like the coolest aunt in the world. I gifted my nephew, Maxime, a plane ticket to Brazil to spend a week in Rio de Janeiro with my husband, Luiz, and his family.

Maxime was only 21 years old when he boarded the plane on the morning of February 28, 2024.

Intellectual, humble and kind, Maxime was like an unassuming ray of sunshine hitting your face with all its warmth on a Sunday afternoon. He was a gift to all who met him, always unpretentious and never overbearing.

This trip was to be special! It meant spending time with his favorite uncle in an exotic country he had dreamed about visiting. And there were positive changes Maxime was eager to celebrate. He’d been getting himself in shape, had just gotten a small studio in downtown Oslo, and was going to be starting a new job when he got back.

“Have a great flight, Maxime! Let me know when you get to Rio,” I texted last Tuesday night, knowing he was just about to board.

“Dzięki. Dam znać” Maxime replied. (“Thanks.” “I will.”)

“Are we going to the Amazon?” Maxime asked Luiz over the phone from Amsterdam a few hours later.

“No, the Amazon is very far, but we will have fun!” Luiz replied.

But Maxime never made it to Rio. He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in his seat on the Amsterdam-Rio flight. His heart was full of joy and hope, but stopped suddenly mid-flight, with no warning.

Shock.

Profound despair.

Unimaginable pain that never ends…

Luiz never got to greet him on arrival with open arms. Allan and Maria (Luiz’s brother and mom) never got to know him…

We are all shattered to pieces by grief and working tirelessly to help my beloved sister, Ania, brother-in-law Andrzej and Maxime’s younger sister Dhyana. I created this fundraiser to help them cover the costs of bringing our beloved Maxime’s remains back home and giving him the loving burial he deserves.

If Maxime had died at home, it would still be an unimaginable loss, but his passing on an international flight significantly complicates his family’s mourning. There are so many hurdles to overcome! The process of transporting the remains from Brazil to Norway is complex and very costly. The family does not have the money to pay for Maxim’s body to be transported and, to save costs, tried to have him cremated in Rio, but their request has been denied by Brazilian authorities.

Please help me ease my sister’s financial burden a little, however big or small your contribution, will allow Ania and her family to focus on their grieving. And, if you are moved to do so, please share some kind words to help ease their sorrow. Thank you.

Maxime leaves behind his heartbroken parents, sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, extended family and friends.

We Miss You, Maxime.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Frye