Headstone for Colin Muilenburg
Donation protected
No one should have to write a check to pay for their own child's headstone. The unexpected, sudden death of 13 year old Colin Muilenburg from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm this past summer -- just as he was on the cusp of finally surmounting his kidney disease with a successful transplant, is a parent's worst nightmare.
As if that isn't enough, then there is a cost to losing your child.
Imagine having hospital bills for failed life-saving measures, funeral expenses, and then a headstone because an unmarked grave just compounds the injustice of it all. It's hard enough to contemplate what you want on your child's headstone, let alone having to write a check for it.
As a family friend trying to offer floaties in their ocean of grief to keep them from drowning in sorrow, I realized that maybe having compassionate friends cover the cost of the headstone would be a light in the darkness of their journey. I'm hoping we can quickly raise $3,000 so they will not have to write that awful check when it comes due.
Erin is at the Fair Oaks Cemetery every week trying to cover the dirt that marks her son's final resting place with flowers and orange butterflies (her spiritual symbol that Colin is still with her). Seeing an unmarked grave only compounds her pain, but she cannot bear to make his passing final by ordering a headstone.
Let's take care of this so Erin, Chad, Zach, and Josh don't have to and can dwell instead on the wonderful memories of their son and brother.
Thank you,
Kelli Wheeler
(the picture above is of Colin 2 days before he died having chocolate again for the first time in 2 years thanks to a successful kidney transplant)
As if that isn't enough, then there is a cost to losing your child.
Imagine having hospital bills for failed life-saving measures, funeral expenses, and then a headstone because an unmarked grave just compounds the injustice of it all. It's hard enough to contemplate what you want on your child's headstone, let alone having to write a check for it.
As a family friend trying to offer floaties in their ocean of grief to keep them from drowning in sorrow, I realized that maybe having compassionate friends cover the cost of the headstone would be a light in the darkness of their journey. I'm hoping we can quickly raise $3,000 so they will not have to write that awful check when it comes due.
Erin is at the Fair Oaks Cemetery every week trying to cover the dirt that marks her son's final resting place with flowers and orange butterflies (her spiritual symbol that Colin is still with her). Seeing an unmarked grave only compounds her pain, but she cannot bear to make his passing final by ordering a headstone.
Let's take care of this so Erin, Chad, Zach, and Josh don't have to and can dwell instead on the wonderful memories of their son and brother.
Thank you,
Kelli Wheeler
(the picture above is of Colin 2 days before he died having chocolate again for the first time in 2 years thanks to a successful kidney transplant)
Organizer
Kelli Silveira Wheeler
Organizer
Arden Town, CA
