flight story #5 and #6

We lost our mom in 2020 due to covid and our aunts are the last of our family's elders. My sister and I scrambled to find a way to get to Michigan quickly. They live in a very isolated area with little resources other than their pensions, doggies Jax and Dottie, love of the Detroit Pistons, and a freezer full of food they shouldn't be eating. Their most valuable resource was their close friendship and now my Aunt Sandie was alone. 

Unfortunately, the events over the past almost 3 years have wiped out our resources; my husband and I lost our home and business due to the shutdown and are staying in a spare room in his mom's house. My sister, who is chronically ill and a schoolteacher, has significant medical debt.  Just as we had run out of ideas for gathering funds for flights to Michigan, I took one last look on the internet. Many other people have got to be in this same position, and I wanted to see their thoughts and ideas. At the very bottom of a thread on Reddit, I found a link to Families in Flight. It seemed like a one in a million shot, but we had exhausted every other idea. The simplicity of the application is wonderful because it's difficult to manage complexities during grief. The quick response time from Families in Flight was extraordinary; we really didn't expect to hear anything back at all, much less within an hour or two of applying. It was such an unexpected hopeful turn of events. Without my sister and I flying out, my Aunt Sandie would have to have said goodbye to my Aunt Cecelia alone. I cannot describe what it felt like to be able to call my Aunt Sandie and say, "We are coming. We will be there." This is because Families in Flight saw our need and said, "We will get you there." We love you guys. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

Jennifer and Gabrielle