Yesterday, my best friend Brittany lost her mother, Patty Ann Westberry Brown.
Patty had been battling stage four lung and brain cancer for quite some time, so this was not a death that came completely without warning. Brittany and her family had been living with the painful reality that her mother was dying.
But knowing someone is dying does not make losing them any easier.
You can spend months preparing yourself for a goodbye, but you can never truly prepare for the moment when that goodbye becomes final.
Yesterday, that long goodbye suddenly became the final goodbye.
Patty suffered a heart attack, and Brittany was faced with an unimaginable decision. She had to remove her mother from oxygen support.
There is no way to describe what it feels like to make that decision for the person who gave you life.
Brittany sat beside her mother for days and held her as she took her final breath.
And I want people to know who Patty was... not just how she died, but how she lived.
Patty was a saint. Her own life was incredibly hard, and there were times when she was homeless and had very little herself. Yet somehow, she always found something to give. Always.
She fed people who were hungry. She gave to children. She would give her last penny to someone who needed it. Her life was hard, but her heart was soft. She was an angel on earth, and she was deeply loved and adored by so many people.
I never had the opportunity to meet Patty in person, but I knew her through Brit. We talked, joked around and messed with each other on Facebook over the years. She was an important part of Brittany’s life, and because Brittany is one of my best friends, Patty became someone I cared about too.
Brittany and I have been best friends for 16 years. From the day I met her, she became one of my people. We have accumulated more memories, stories, laughter and ridiculous times than I could ever count.
Now Brittany is facing something no daughter ever wants to face. She has to grieve the loss of her mother while also dealing with everything that comes with losing a parent.
There are cremation expenses, hospital bills, final bills, storage units, paperwork, travel costs and an enormous amount of her mother’s belongings that now have to be sorted through and dealt with.
And unfortunately, grief does not put the bills on hold.
Brittany is going to need approximately $10,000 to handle these immediate expenses. If she has to pay for everything herself, it will completely deplete every dollar she has and leave her trying to rebuild her own life with nothing left.
I am asking for help because I know Brittany, and I know that she would do the same for me.
She has spent her life loving the people around her. Right now, she needs some of that love returned.
If you can donate, any amount will help. $10, $20, $50, $100. It all adds up.
If you cannot donate, please share this fundraiser. Sometimes sharing a post is all you can do, and sometimes that one share reaches the person who can make a life-changing difference.
She has spent enough time preparing to lose her mother.
Now she needs the space to actually grieve her.
Please help me give my best friend that space.
Please help us give Patty the final goodbye she deserves and give Brittany one less burden to carry while she mourns her mom.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ❤️
