The two siblings have been left heartbroken and with a mountain of debt after the passing of their parents Gavin and Connie McKinley. Photo / GoFundMe
The two siblings have been left heartbroken and with a mountain of debt after the passing of their parents Gavin and Connie McKinley. Photo / GoFundMe
A brother and sister have been left heartbroken and with a mountain of debt after the tragic deaths of both their parents in the same year.
Siblings Balin and Tian McKinley, aged 25 and 15, were left reeling after losing their father Gavin to suicide in January, aged just 57.
“You were my best friend and forever will be the most influential person in my life... I can’t imagine life without you, what a change that will be,” Balin said about his father on Facebook.
“Hearing your last breath was the most difficult thing I will ever have to do, but I know you waited to see me before letting that happen.”
The siblings were then rocked by tragedy again this month, after their mum Connie passed away suddenly from cancer.
“Tian had the horrific experience of finding her mum while with her boyfriend Jayden when they arrived home,” a message on a GoFundMe set up to help the siblings said.
“Tragically, it was too late and Connie had passed with nobody around to give her a fighting chance.”
McKinley remembered his mother as “the most determined, strong, courageous, beautiful woman” he knew.
McKinley said his mum was the "most beautiful woman in the world". Photo / Facebook
“Words cannot describe the pain I feel having to write this to you. I never thought in my most horrific dreams that both Tian and I would be saying goodbye, so soon,” he said.
“You did not deserve the year you’ve had, losing your soulmate and having to work on cleaning up the mess that followed. But you pushed through the heartache, fear and loneliness to provide for the both of us, sacrificing everything you have worked so god damn hard for to make our lives just a little easier.”
Grappling with the loss of both parents in such a short time period, the siblings were then dealt another blow - with no will set in place due to the sudden passing of their mother.
25-year-old Balin has been left to care for his 15-year-old sister. Photo / Facebook
“Without Connie, Balin and Tian now have an unfathomable level of emotional and financial strain, having immediately inherited close to $1,000,000 in debt both business and property related,” the GoFundMe page reads.
“No will was set in place, no family is able to assist financially and they no doubt have absolutely zero direction on how to tackle what’s to come let alone mourn and grieve their mum.”
In response to the pressures placed on the young siblings, friends of McKinley have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help give them “some breathing room while they figure out how to move forward”.
“They are finding it so unbelievably difficult to be seeking any assistance after what they went through in January, in which they received amazing support, but they are completely out of their depth,” the friends wrote.
The group have raised nearly $8000 of their $10,000 goal to find the siblings support.
If you are worried about your or someone else’s mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
OR IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE:
• LIFELINE: 0800 543 354 or 09 5222 999 within Auckland (available 24/7)• SUICIDE CRISIS HELPLINE: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)• YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633 ,free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat.• NEED TO TALK? Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7)• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)• DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757• SAMARITANS – 0800 726 666.
