Kimberly McKnight Burial Expenses
Hi everyone. This is Sean.
I'm making this campaign in order to help raise money for my mother's burial expenses.
My family and I are not ones to usually ask for help, but unfortunately the cost of everything is far too much a burden on us at the moment. So we need your help.
My mother was one of the most kind, loving, and passionate people I had ever known. I cherished every moment I ever got to spend with her. One day, to my dismay, I heard she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This was one of the harshest things I have ever had to hear.
Sadly, by the time we found out, it had already spread to her liver, and spleen, and eventually would come to overtake most all of her body. We fought so hard...SHE fought so hard. But no chemotherapy was enough to help. She had done more chemo than any person i've ever known, and many variants...none made the tumors shrink.
We went to the hospital in Vancouver after many sessions, in hopes they could at least take out some of the cancer in order to hopefully expand her life...Due to the cost of the operation, the insurance wouldnt pay for it. As quickly as she was opened up, she was closed up yet again. It was too much...and they didn't even try.
We didn't lose hope, the doctors here in Ilwaco kept pushing, and she continued her chemotherapy for months. No matter what she tried, the tumors never shrank. She fought extremely hard, but no matter how hard she tried, it was already too late and the growth could not be reversed.
In her final days, my entire family had been right by her side. We tried to make her as comfortable as we possibly could in her final days. Something that was so emotionally exhausting and heartbreaking, it surely will leave our family scarred for quite some time. We knew we couldnt meet her needs in her last couple days, so we took her to the hospital.
On July 31st, 2015, at 1:32 pm, she passed away. We were all there to hold her hand, and I know part of us didn't want to believe it was real until her final breath.
Then realty shook. It felt like a meteor had struck my heart...she was gone.
It was the most difficult thing I've ever tried to comprehend. The conflicting emotions of rage, sadness, and relief hit me all at once. How could this happen? I asked. But deep down, I, and the rest of my family, know now she is in a better place. A place free of pain.
And that is truly what counts.
Something we hadn't thought of, with the whirlwind of everything else flying at us, is funeral expenses.
We aren't asking much, only the absolute basics. But the cost of a cremation alone (which is what she wanted) is over one thousand dollars. That, on top of the many other fees, is overencumbering us.
So again, I'm here to ask your help.
We really hate doing this but we have no other choice at the moment, so i'm begging for any donations and help that you all can come up with. A simple five dollars would even suffice in the scheme of things...we just can't do it alone.
A list of known expenses so far go as follows;
Basic Cremation - (Includes service charge, transportation from place of death, refridgeration and place to hold the body until cremation, all legal paperwork, processing of death certificate, and placing of basic obituary notices) 1000.00$ - 1295.00$
Gravestone marker - 400 - 500$ dependant on location
Headstone slab - 900$ for the cheapest option
Death certificates - 20$ each, number needed is unknown yet
Possible other expenses if enough money is made;
Obituary in the newspaper - 75$ minimum, increases with number of words.
True memorial service - 500$ estimated
Hidden costs, urn for the ashes, etc. - ???
Last Words
My family and I loved my mother more than anything. She was always nurturing and shaped me to become the person I am today. Anyone that ever met her knows how kind and caring she was to everyone.
I owe everything to her. So this is the least I can do.
Please, if you can donate, or know someone that might be able to, don't be afraid to at least share this with others, whether it be through a link on facebook or word of mouth. We really need the help. If any extra money is made, it will go towards a proper memorial service, a better headstone, or any other extra fees that might arise.
We have recieved so much support and I just want to personally thank all of you for the guidance and shoulders to lean on during this tough period of our lives. We owe so much to you all already...so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope this is successful and we can give Kimberly McKnight a proper place of rest.
I know you are in better place now mommy, I hope that you can look down and be proud of all of us in the coming years...I'll see you again one day.
Kimberly Ann McKnight
January 16, 1958 - July 31st 2015
You will be forever in our hearts.