The morning of March 3, my siblings and I said goodbye to our mother, Heather. My mom fought for a long time, determined to get better, see Liam graduate, and be with her family. Unfortunately, due to fighting for so long, her body was unable to recover after a recent medical emergency. We initially believed we had days, but this quickly turned to hours. My mom did not pass away scared or alone, my siblings and I, as well as their friends and partners, came and spent her final moments with her.
While in the midst of her last cancer diagnosis, her position at Lumen was eliminated, leaving her unemployed for the first time in nearly a decade. She spent years of her life dedicated to Lumen/Centrylink. Once she no longer had her job, she utilized her social security disability payments to pay her bills and maintain her medical care.
As a result, her budget grew thin and savings became her money to live on. Often relying on support from our nannie or the hospital.
My mom wanted a funeral, she wanted a burial, and she wanted to be remembered and celebrated by her loved ones.
My siblings and I will not have the money to cover her funeral and burial expenses. I recently moved back from Florida to be with her, my sister is a social worker who earns barely enough to take care of herself, and Liam is a college student who has focused most of his free time on being our moms caretaker.
Despite our current situation, we absolutely want to do what is right for our mom. We want to try everything we can to make sure her final wishes are met.
We are asking anyone who may have known or loved our mom, to please consider donating.
All funds will go directly to her, specifically her cremation, funeral, and burial. If there are any funds remaining, these will go directly to taking care of her home, her cats, and her mother.
Our mother was, and is, a beautiful and unique light in our lives. She has always been our guiding light, our northern star, and without her we are lost. We hope with some support, we can honor and celebrate her one last time with all of her loved ones.