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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, April 10, 2013 | 8 continued from p.3 Oakville couple steps in where mom left off tor and Eli drove her. Eli said he didn't recognize her when he picked her up, as her head was swollen. She was delirious and threw up twice before they even reached the doctor's clinic. From there, they took her to the hospital where a CT scan revealed blood on her brain. She was transferred to Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. She stopped breathing on the MRI table, was resuscitated and rushed into two surgeries. The first operation was to drain the blood, while the second surgery, a few days later, removed the tumour. Since then, she has been in a comatose state. The Gilberts said Maricon had touched their lives in a way they could never have expected and an entire community was brought together for the woman. Jodie said she spoke with Maricon's former employer in Paris and the pair bonded and grieved together. "She's brought so many people into our lives because of this situation, sadly," she said. It will cost approximately $6,000 to fly Maricon's daughters and a chaperone to Canada and back. The Gilberts are reaching out to the public to help them support Maricon's children. Firstly, they are hoping to be able to fly the girls to Canada, and if possible, to help support them through their schooling. The Gilberts said they hope to raise as much money as possible because Maricon's children live on only $700-$800 a month. "If we could gather enough money, say an open work permit, which allowed her to find new work in Canada, and she became a personal support worker. Maricon continued living with the Gilberts until she found a single-bedroom apartment with shared accommodations in Oakville. Maricon and the Gilberts remained good friends. She was even collecting things she would need for when her daughters would come to Canada and had full boxes full taking up a large portion of her room. Then the headache started, which a doctor said was a migraine at first. The headache continued and the Gilberts became concerned, as Maricon was not often sick. They begged her to see a doc- $100,000, we could put them through their schooling, get them to university and then have them make a life for themselves, which is what Maricon always dreamed of," Eli said. The round-trip could be paid for with 300,000 Aeroplan Miles. The Oakville family has set up an Aeroplan Charitable Pooling Account. The account number is 771296605. To contact Aeroplan, call 1-800-361-5373. They have also opened up a trust account at the Bank of Montreal. The Bank number is 001, Branch: 2472, Account: 897-8219. Interac and ETransfers can be done by e-mail at maricontrust@ icloud.com. The fundraising effort runs the entire month, ending April 30. www.oakville.ca You know amazing people right? Nominate them for a Community Spirit Award! a Award Categories: 12 TH A N N U A L Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 3 ­ 8 p.m. Oakville Arena, 133 Rebecca Street ­ Kinsmen Pine Room Public Open House Spring loose leaf collection April 15­26, 2013 Loose leaves from designated areas in Oakville will be collected as follows: Date Zone Guidelines av ays befo Bagged leaf service For more information, contact: