Three siblings who have already suffered so much loss are now fundraising for funeral costs following the sudden death of their dad.
Ramsgate dad Duane Challis died on Saturday (October 1) due to a blood clot in his lungs.
Paramedics tried for more than two hours to save the 56-year-old but sadly their efforts failed.
Daughters Nikita, 25, and Mariah, 21, and son Ethan, 13, now face the daunting task of trying to raise around £5000 for their dad’s funeral.
The siblings lost their mum in 2016 and their sister Gabrielle, aged just 23, to cancer in July. Nikita is also trying to organise the fundraiser and care for her siblings and six-year-old daughter while in hospital after the loss of her unborn baby.
She said: “We trying to raise the funds for Dad’s funeral. We suddenly lost him Saturday to a blood clot in his lungs. Paramedics, doctors and nurses tried for over two hours to save him but it just wasn’t enough.
“Our family has been through hell and back in the last 3 months. We lost my sister in July to cancer and I sadly had to have a procedure done on Friday because my unborn baby’s heart had stopped beating so within the space of a day I had to lose my unborn baby and watch my dad pass away.
“I have a little girl and have to step up even more to be the bigger role model for my sister and my brother, as well as be a mother to my 6 year old daughter and be a partner.
“Dad’s funeral is going to cost nearly £5,000. I need at least £2,200 by Friday to even be able to make a date and time for the funeral. I’m trying so hard but I don’t have support like other people. We have no parents now, it’s just me, my brother and sister.”
Nikita says the loss of Duane, who loved playing computer games and made online friends around the world, has come as “a massive shock and heartbreak” for the family.
She added: “ Dad was so loved and he would do anything for his kids.”
