KallMeKris

And six days after the lunch, on August 4th,

Gail and Heather would pass away.

Gail was 70 years old at the time and Heather was 66 years old.

And she had still been teaching that week, working with her English students right up until the end.

And doctors listed the cause as liver dysfunction and cascading organ failure, all traced to Amanita mushroom toxicity.

And by the time they died, their medical teams had already accepted that there was nothing more that they could do.

And Don would receive a liver transplant in a last ditch effort to help save him, but unfortunately it wouldn't be enough.

And Simon would say, quote, sadly, the rest of his body was already too sick to go on past that point.

And Ian nearly suffered the same fate.

And he had spent weeks in an induced coma.

And he would also receive a liver transplant of his own.

And he was taken off the ventilator on August 14th.

So 54 days passed between his admission and his release on September 23rd.

And when news came of his release, his family spoke publicly for the first time, calling it a moment of immense relief and gratitude.

And the following Sunday, the Baptist Church congregation gathered to support each other and pray for Ian's recovery.

And local mayor, Nathan Hersey, spoke for the town.

And the three who died, he said, were, quote, exceptional people who had given generously to the local community, unquote.

And counselor, Jenny Curie, said, quote, we've lost a great store of kindness in Corimbra this weekend, unquote.

So on August 31st, the memorial service for Don and Gail was held at Corimbra Memorial Hall and hundreds of mourners filled the space and tribute letters arrived from China, Botswana and the United Kingdom, all saying Don and Gail were the most capable, kindest and generous people they had ever met.

And Simon stood before the crowd and read Gail's final words.