Support Brian's family with their loss

Hello everyone, this is Brian’s youngest step-daughter, Amanda.

It has been about a week since my father has passed as I write this.

From day to night, I’ve tried thinking of what to write here as an update now that my father has moved on, it has been very difficult to begin to even think of any words that could express the sadness in mine and my family’s heart at this time.

I just miss my father dearly.

My dad, Brian, was an incredible man.

A wonderful husband to my mother, a comforting father to my sister and I, and a loving grandfather to his beloved granddaughter.

He was always there to help in anyway he could, he was always there to give advice when one wasn’t sure of what to do, he was always there to share a joke or two and lighten up the room with his warm laughter and soft smile.

For my family, the pain of losing him has been a lot.

Our lives will never truly be the same now that he is gone, I know over time the pain will lighten but having to come to terms that when we open the front door at home and he won’t physically be there anymore is hard.

We are truly grateful for all the donations so far, originally any funds were going to be used to help with any medical expense for my father and his comfortability.

Any funds we receive here now will help pay towards his funeral service and any aid towards our family in this difficult time.

I really wish I had more I could write here but I truly struggle thinking of anything else to type other than how beautiful of a soul my father was and how much he did for my mother, my sis and I when we first met him and he became part of our lives.

I wish we could’ve had him in our lives so much longer, I wish I could sit with him again at home and watch a movie, listen to his stories of his time on the police force, laugh with him because his laugh was just so contagiously pure, hear his words of encouragement in my hardest times and tell me everything would be ok.

I wish I could just hold his hand, hug him again and tell him how much I love him.

He was always there for us and I will never forget that, I’ll always hold onto everything he was in my heart.

My father truly loved life, he loved all those that he met, his friends over time and his family, who will always remember him forever.

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Below is previously written statements from our first GoFundMe and when I created this one while my father was still with us.

From early July 2024:

Hi everyone,

My name is Amanda, I am Brian’s youngest stepdaughter, and I am writing on behalf of my father and mother, Brian and Albertine.

I’m not sure where to begin in all of this but does anyone really when it involves a loved one that means the world to you.

In the month of June we we’re given the news the cancer medication my father was on was no longer working.

Sitting in that small room as the cancer doctor in his own words said, “Your cancer will kill you as it has been trying to do all this time.” All I could do was silently cry.

My father, who is such a wonderful man, was told his time was going to be up.

I know no one is an exception when it comes to facing their own mortality and it can happen at anytime but even so, the pain felt from it is always very real. It is very heavy and such a difficult thing to navigate, regardless of the circumstances, it’s never easy.

My father has currently been in the hospital bedridden for over 2 and a half weeks. My mother and I have been at my father’s side in the hospital everyday for almost every single hour in hopes that our presence and assistance can help give him even more of a fighting chance with what he is already doing to fight for himself.

He has his good days and his bad days. Even so, he has said many times how he still wishes to fight until the end. My mother is doing everything in her power to respect his wishes even when she is being called “cruel” for doing so, it’s within her and my fathers right on how they walk this road and I support them every step of the way.

My mother and I are no strangers to death, we have talked many times with my father about his situation, we will know in our hearts when the time has come.

It has been an extremely difficult time; We loathe having to even think of finances in such a time as this where the only worry should be about Brian’s comfortability but regrettably that is not the world we live in.

My mother and I have been trying to figure out ways to pay for bills in this difficult time, I can only assist so much due to my own physical disabilities and it greatly pains me to see my mother struggle so much with having to fear the possibility of losing a lot of our livelihood along with the love of her life who she so dearly wanted to spend so many more years with.

With the donations from this fundraiser we are hoping to cover expenses for medication, medical equipment, and anything that can aid in the comfort of my father at this time.

My mother, father and I are thankful to everyone who has taken the time to read this and are considering donating along with those who had donated before.

Below I will post what my oldest sister had previously written about my father in our past GoFundMe if you wish to read more of his story.

I’ll end this update with my own father’s words to me from months before things had started to go downhill, “Please continue on living life when I’m gone, be sad for me but don’t let it stop you, take care of yourself and your mother, look out for her.”

Thank you.

From Nov 2023, previous fundraiser:

Hello everyone,

My name is Stefanee and I am writing this on behalf of my dad Brian Kijowski. We are reaching out to all who can help us to reach our goal of $30,000.

You may stop to think and ask yourself why we are looking for such a generous donation and the reason is that my dad is fighting cancer.

Myeloma cancer to be exact.

For those of you who don't know what Myeloma cancer is, it is a cancer of the plasma cells. Plasma cells are white blood cells that make antibodies that protect us from infection. What happens with Myeloma cancer is the cells grow too much, crowding normal cells in the bone marrow that make red blood cells, platelets, and other white blood cells.

Since 2010 my dad has been in hospitals and seeing doctors to keep his Myeloma cancer at bay. Unfortunately, 12 years later, it has returned and has been affecting his quality of life the last few years. He has found himself in the hospital more then he ever has in his 71 years of life and that is saying a lot because he was apart of the Calgary Police Service for 27 years.

The treatments and the medicine have left him tired, not always present, irritable, and shameful towards himself. Shameful because he has always known himself as the man that you could come to for help. Whether it was to help with friend's home renovations, be a friend who lent an ear, and being the best dad to his two daughters and a wonderful grandpa to his granddaughter.

It has been hard to watch him struggle, to see him in pain, and to longer see the spark of life that he use to have in him just a few years ago.

With the donations that we collect Brian is looking to pay for his medicine, his trips to the hospital (these trips include driving from Vernon to Kelowna as well as Vernon to Vancouver), and other expenses. Brian's wife, Albertine, has been working 3 jobs since his cancer has returned just to keep everything going at home. This has been hard on Brian because being the person he is, he wishes that he could provide for his family along side his wife.

If cancer wasn't affecting his life he would be working a part time job not only to help Albertine provide but to keep himself busy because that is the way he has lived most of his life. He has never been the husband or dad that sits around because he was always the go getter.

I want to thank everyone on behalf of my dad who has taken the time to read his story and are considering donating. Your kindness and compassion is very much appreciated during this trying time.

Link to previous fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/brian-kijowski