Alice Arias, Final Expenses
Donation protected
I had hoped that it would be years before I would have to write this:
On August 16th, 2018 @ 6:02 PM, our mother, Alicia Arias ended her never ending battle brought on by heart disease, perpetuated by renal disease. She was admitted Tuesday, August 14th due to stomach pains and it was established that there was not sufficient airflow to her lower intestine. She underwent a high risk surgery that evening to remove the necrotic tissue (a surgery she promised me she would make it through, and she did!). She was scheduled for a follow-up surgery on Friday, August 17th to finish everything. Unfortunately for us, tomorrow never came. Her ailing heart caused low blood flow leaving her blood pressure drop, ultimately releasing her from suffering.
A bit of a back story to her resilience, Alicia endured (and survived) two high-risk, invasive valve replacement surgeries within the past 4 years and suffered (and overcame) three heart attacks within the past year. She made it a point to find strength through her 4x per week dialysis appointments and managed to come back home and take care of us. Despite her chronic, failing health and numerous close calls to death in the past, her motto was simply, " find peace and beauty in life's hardships; always fight until the end". And she did just that. Prior to her departure here on earth, she made it a point to express her wishes to not shift any supportive care in exchange for palliative, comfort care- she wanted to out with bang, as she put it. She passed surrounded by her loved ones holding her hands and looking into her eyes until she took her very last breath. Prior to this she worked to propel social mobility in underrepresented communities, volunteering her time and resources to help migrant workers and their children. My family and I owe our success and our being to this beautiful soul. Whom despite her circumstances, still managed to maintain tremendous optimism and resilience. For those who may not have known her personally, I leave you with this, My mother was a testament to living out your values and dreams, despite the circumstances, and she appreciated every second of life, despite its hardships, we could all gain something from viewing life through this lense.
We were blessed to have my mother attend my and my brother's graduation this past spring, where she explicitly made it a point to rush out of dialysis and skip rest to see us walk.
My family and I riddled with grief and are at a loss to accept this tumultuous reality. Nevertheless, as my mother would have put it, "life goes on, mijo". We are asking for donations to not only place my mother to rest, but close out her final expenses. My family has taken time off work and is expected to substantially pay out through savings and credit cards. Any little bit helps us through this difficult time.
It is with humble gratitude that my family and I leave this campaign up in an effort to appropriately bid this wonderful soul not goodbye, but until we meet again.
Thank you,
Daniel and the Arias and Diaz Family.
'
On August 16th, 2018 @ 6:02 PM, our mother, Alicia Arias ended her never ending battle brought on by heart disease, perpetuated by renal disease. She was admitted Tuesday, August 14th due to stomach pains and it was established that there was not sufficient airflow to her lower intestine. She underwent a high risk surgery that evening to remove the necrotic tissue (a surgery she promised me she would make it through, and she did!). She was scheduled for a follow-up surgery on Friday, August 17th to finish everything. Unfortunately for us, tomorrow never came. Her ailing heart caused low blood flow leaving her blood pressure drop, ultimately releasing her from suffering.
A bit of a back story to her resilience, Alicia endured (and survived) two high-risk, invasive valve replacement surgeries within the past 4 years and suffered (and overcame) three heart attacks within the past year. She made it a point to find strength through her 4x per week dialysis appointments and managed to come back home and take care of us. Despite her chronic, failing health and numerous close calls to death in the past, her motto was simply, " find peace and beauty in life's hardships; always fight until the end". And she did just that. Prior to her departure here on earth, she made it a point to express her wishes to not shift any supportive care in exchange for palliative, comfort care- she wanted to out with bang, as she put it. She passed surrounded by her loved ones holding her hands and looking into her eyes until she took her very last breath. Prior to this she worked to propel social mobility in underrepresented communities, volunteering her time and resources to help migrant workers and their children. My family and I owe our success and our being to this beautiful soul. Whom despite her circumstances, still managed to maintain tremendous optimism and resilience. For those who may not have known her personally, I leave you with this, My mother was a testament to living out your values and dreams, despite the circumstances, and she appreciated every second of life, despite its hardships, we could all gain something from viewing life through this lense.
We were blessed to have my mother attend my and my brother's graduation this past spring, where she explicitly made it a point to rush out of dialysis and skip rest to see us walk.
My family and I riddled with grief and are at a loss to accept this tumultuous reality. Nevertheless, as my mother would have put it, "life goes on, mijo". We are asking for donations to not only place my mother to rest, but close out her final expenses. My family has taken time off work and is expected to substantially pay out through savings and credit cards. Any little bit helps us through this difficult time.
It is with humble gratitude that my family and I leave this campaign up in an effort to appropriately bid this wonderful soul not goodbye, but until we meet again.
Thank you,
Daniel and the Arias and Diaz Family.
'Organizer
Danny Arias
Organizer
San Jose, CA