Grief I can't even begin to imagine

I received an Email from a client of mine, telling me her father had passed away. She is the oldest child in her family. She had come to this country fron France to marry her husband.

When I called her yesterday, my heart broke for her. Here she had been to France earlier to take care of her mother. She had flown back here to help her husband with some stuff, only to be on a plane back to France three days later after the death of her mother. Now, five months later, her father is gone. She can't even fly home. Her credit cards are maxed out from the last trip. They had also had to take out a loan to cover cost as well. So, here she is, managing phone calls since Sunday from her home here to France to plan the funeral of her father.

I can't even begin to fathom how that must feel. How does one deal with death from so far away? Sure, she has her husband and her friends here. But, she can't even be there to comfort her sister. I know what it's like not to have much physical contact with my family, as we're all scattered to the four winds. But, I had my friends physically nearby, and some though not physically close were closer in miles than my client is to her family. How does one begin to deal with grief from so great a distance? I'm not so sure I have a straight answer to that question.

When I told her that I was willing to offer her a free massage, she told me that she could not possibly take me up on that. She kept saying that she didn't deserve the kindness of those who were reaching out to her, because she was finding it hard to accept it, while in the midst of planning her father's funeral. So hard.