How to help a mom who lost her son in the Ebola crisis

An Ebola survivor has posted a heartbreaking message on social media in which she says her son was among the first to die.

Catherine R. Lappin wrote on Sunday that her son, Matthew J. Wicks, died at the Saint Mary’s hospital in Virginia, where he had been treated for Ebola.

He was one of the first confirmed patients to be treated in the U.S. after a nurse at a Dallas hospital tested positive for the virus.

Lappin says she has been struggling to pay the bills since her son’s death.

She is currently raising $20,000 for the care of his mother, who is being treated in Atlanta.LAPPIN: The hospital in Atlanta where my son was taken is now a total loss and the people that were there before him are now being displaced.LIVE UPDATES: The Latest on the Ebola outbreak in the United States article Lappins father was working as a janitor at a local hospital in Kentucky when he contracted the virus, and he was sent home to live with his family in Atlanta for a month.

His mother, JoAnn Wicks Wicks told ABC News in December that she had been told to stay home for two weeks.

But she returned to work three days later.

The Wicks have raised more than $8,000 in donations to help pay for Matthew’s funeral expenses.

They have also set up a GoFundMe page.

On Saturday, the Wicks made a plea on social and local media to help cover funeral costs.

They say they have set up the GoFundme page to raise money for funeral expenses, which they say Matthew Wicks had not received.LAPIN: Please send a little bit more than you need for the funeral expenses and help with the funeral costs, Matthew Wits mother told ABC affiliate WTVR.

We need a little help, she said.

They need help from people in this community to help with funeral costs for Matthew W. And he was just a wonderful boy.