A Chicago family is raising money to bring home the body of a loved one who died while traveling to Bali, Indonesia.
Justice Gatlin, 26, had a seizure and lost all vital signs while on the way to the country, her father told Fox 32 Chicago.
“She was going on a girl’s trip with her friends and family,” Donald Eugene Thompson Jr said. “Now her body is being held in Taipei, Taiwan, and we’re trying to raise the money to bring our little girl home.”
The family has been asking for donations via GoFundMe and has raised just over $30,000. They were told that it cost $37,000 to bring the mother of two back home for a funeral service and have been communicating with the U.S. Embassy in Taiwan non-stop, describing it as a heart-wrenching process.
“There’s going to be a cost as we have to get her body prepared to bring her home,” he added, per the outlet. “Then there will be a price to bring her back to the airport.”
Gatlin, who is survived by her daughters Nylani and Kensleigh, is remembered by her mother as “intelligent” and the “sweetest person.”
“I want to see my daughter. I want to see my baby. I need this for myself to see my child. I’m trying to just bring her home so I can give her the proper burial that she deserves,” said Kendra Harris, per Fox 32 Chicago. “If it wasn’t a bang, if it wasn’t another country, with different regulations. It wouldn’t be my daughter. My daughter was sunshine.”
Gatlin’s story comes after a Florida family announced they were raising money to bring Michael Eugene Clark to a hospital in the U.S. The Clark University alum suffered severe burns from a tragic accident while vacationing in Medellin, Colombia. To bring him to Miami for treatment, they were told they had to fulfill all of his outstanding hospital bills.
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