Mother’s emergency flight to attend son’s funeral

An Invercargill mother has been caught with an expensive bill to attend her son’s funeral in Australia during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Invercargill woman Stacey McDowell has booked an emergency flight to Australia to attend the memorial service for her seven-year-old son Jackson Cossill.

Stacey’s sister Gemma McDowell estimated the emergency fight to Australia would cost her $1200 return.

Due to Covid-19 regulations requiring two weeks quarantine in both countries, Stacey, an essential worker at a care home, would have to take more than six weeks leave without pay for the trip, Gemma said.

Stacey’s passport had also expired and it had been taking longer than normal to renew it.

The family were hoping it would arrive before Friday for her flight on Saturday.

‘‘She needs to go see him and I don’t think she would forgive herself if she didn’t,’’ Gemma said.

The memorial service had been put on hold until Stacey could arrive in Australia.

Jackson died on May 6 from a cardiac arrest due to an underlying asthmatic condition.

Gemma spoke of her nephew as very bubbly, energetic boy.

Stacey’s sister Melissa McDowell remembered Jackson as boy who did not like seeing other people cry.

It had been about a year since Stacey had last visited her son, who lived with his father and step-mum.

Part of the reason it had been a year was that Stacey recently had her second son in New Zealand.

It really hurt Stacey that her sons never got to meet each other, Melissa said.

Gemma had started a fundraising campaign to help with the costs of getting her sister to the memorial service, and cover some costs of taking leave without pay.

More than $2000 had been raised on their Givealittle page, as of noon on Monday.

The family had not set an amount they would like to raise from the campaign but as Jackson was a boy who also had autism, any money left over would be donated to an autism charity, Gemma said.

Only Stacey and one of her sisters would make the trip to Australia but family in New Zealand would be doing their own service at home.

‘‘She needs to go see him and I don’t think she would forgive herself if she didn’t.’’ Stacey’s sister Gemma McDowell