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Well over $10,000 has been raised to benefit a new Calgary family torn apart by tragedy.

Chantele and Brennan Martens entered Foothills Hospital last June full of hope and happiness at the impending birth of their first child. Their happiness quickly turned to sorrow when, during an emergency ceasarean section, doctors discovered the new mother was suffering from advanced-stage cancer.

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Staying strong through her 10-month struggle, Chantele died last week at the age of 33 — leaving behind Brennan and their young son, Isaiah.

Horrified at the thought of Brennan dealing with the costs of the funeral and caring for his young son, longtime friend Nadia Bull has organized a crowdfunding campaign to help offset his costs.

“They’d just married in the hospital, a couple of days before she passed,” she said.

“The funeral cost a lot of money — it was a really big service — and they also have a little boy, so I thought it would be nice for him to regain some, if not all, of the cost of the funeral.”