Oklahoma mother with weeks to live sets up GoFundMe to cover her own funeral expenses, help her children

COWETA, Okla. (KOKI) — A single Coweta mother is asking for help from the community to fund her own funeral and provide support for her children after learning she has only weeks left to live.

Kaylin Gawf, 28, has been battling metastatic breast cancer for three years. FOX23 spoke with her mother, Myra Gawf, about the emotional toll the diagnosis has taken on their family.

“It’s not like it’s something on her knee where she’s fallen and I can just put a Band-Aid on it,” Myra Gawf said. “I can’t fix this. I have to let her fight this herself, and I can’t take it away from her. It’s hard every day to sit and watch her go through that.”

Despite her diagnosis, Gawf worked to maintain a sense of normalcy for as long as she could, her mother said.

“She still did her hair, her makeup, her nails — everything,” Gawf said. “You wouldn’t have even known. She never felt sorry for herself through the whole thing. She just went on and did it.”

That changed just two weeks before Christmas, when doctors discovered the cancer had spread to Kaylin’s brain and bones.

“There’s nothing they can do for her,” Myra Gawf said. “They’ve already done five different cycles of chemotherapy, and there’s no more because her body can’t handle it due to congestive heart failure and other complications.”

Doctors have told Kaylin she has about six weeks to live.

“You never think you’d end up in this spot,” Myra Gawf said. “We thought we’d beat it. Now we’re planning a funeral, and it’s just heartbreaking.”

Kaylin has created a GoFundMe to help cover her funeral expenses and provide financial support for her two children. Her mother said the decision reflects Kaylin’s selfless nature.

“She still wants to look out for them and plan for their future,” Gawf said. “I thought it was nice that she did that.”

“This is the hardest thing I have ever faced. My biggest fear isn’t dying; it’s leaving my children behind with added pain, stress, and financial burden to my family when I’m gone.” — Kaylin Gawf, GoFundMe

Throughout her fight, Myra Gawf said her daughter’s faith has been a source of strength and inspiration for their family.

“If she doesn’t complain about what she’s going through, what do we have to complain about?” she said. “She inspires us all, especially me. She’s my little hero.”

To view the GoFundMe, click here.

This story first appeared on KOKI, a fellow CNN affiliate.