I am writing this as a 19-year-old college freshman to help support my close friend Christian and his mother. Christian is currently 18 and has recently lost his father (Mark) due to his Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy condition. On the 26th of October, he passed unexpectedly in his sleep and left everyone in utter shock, including me, as Mark had been like a second father to me.

My friend and his family just moved to Florida and have been there a little over a year now, having struggled to find work and being away from the support of friends and family back home in Montana. It is now just Christian and his mom who are left to find a way to fund the funeral for his father and find a way back home.

We all know the experience and the pain of losing a loved one, and the times when we are at our lowest. I cannot comprehend the struggle my friend and his mom are going through. So please, any help would make a huge difference, and don't let what may have happened to you happen to them. This is just a kid and his mother who have lost their husband and dad and are struggling to find a way to make ends meet. All they need is $1500 to make it back home and cover the funeral. No kid and no family should ever have to go through this, let alone be left to sell everything in their name to make ends meet.

May my friend and his mom find the money to give Mark the proper funeral that he deserves for the hardworking man he was, and find a safe way back home.