Heather Kurpiewski - Funeral Expenses

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting, Sam here, Heather’s oldest child. Anyone that knows my mom or has been impacted by her in some ways, knows just how special she is. For those that did not have the pleasure of meeting my mom, please allow me to introduce her while trying not to go overboard.

Heather was very involved during her high school years. She was in ASB and also on the drill team. Her involvement in ASB led to many, many friendships along the way. Friends that she was still in touch with over 30 years later. Those friends were family to her and some became family to me.

In 2004/2005 she was diagnosed with Cavernous Angioma (an abnormal blood vessel that can leak within the body). With that, the angioma doesn't only show up in one place within the body, it can be anywhere. Hers happened to be in her brainstem. Now, when anyone hears that, that would scare you. I never saw my mom scared or let that diagnosis affect her. Of course, she had days where she didn't feel well, but I never saw her let that define her life. In fact, she became very involved with following Angioma Alliance, an organization that shared information and what that was, along with survivors' stories.

Fast forward to 2014, she had 3 "episodes"; 3 episodes of blood leaking from the malformation. She was told that she could have surgery to have it removed or risk having another episode that could kill her or cause serious damage. She decided that surgery was the best option for her. She had surgery on November 6th, 2014 and from that day it would become an 8.5-year journey for her and my family. And boy, did she fight it.

On March 21st, she lost her dad after a lengthy illness. He was surrounded by family the day leading up to his passing and my uncle was with him when he passed. She, my uncle and my grandma got to arranging things for his funeral. We had that on March 30th, and everything was going as planned.

We unexpectedly lost her in the early morning of March 31st in Arizona, less than 12 hours after my papa’s funeral. My dad, John, has been working as fast as he can to get arrangements for my mom’s return to CA from AZ, which comes with a hefty cost. Along with the cost to bring her home, we are also in need of help with her final wishes for burial. If anyone knows anything about that, that is not cheap.

My family and I are asking for your help in raising funds for my mom’s funeral and other costs that come with it. All funds raised will go directly to my dad to help pay for her funeral expenses. Anything, no matter the amount, is greatly appreciated.

Love,

The Bonnar/Kurpiewski Family