Gervais attended the country music festival with two of her friends, Dana Smith and Pati Mestas — who was one of the58 people killedwhen64-year-old Stephen Paddocksprayed bullets into the crowd of 22,000 people from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on October 1, 2017.
Gervais’ death Friday brings the total number of lives lost from the shooting to 59.
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Sarvela added that the long and difficult process of her hospitalization and eventual arrival back home to her home in California caused her sister to lose her “zest for life.”
“It took almost a year before she was able to transport out to go back home to California, that was rough,” she told the outlet. “She lost her zest for life because of it, because of the shooting, because of her injuries that she sustained. It was hard to be that same person, that we all know and love.”
Before getting shot, Gervais was ready to retire, Sarvela said.
“Her and I spoke the night before she went to the concert,” she said. “She was going to sell the business, she was ready to just go abroad and enjoy life, like she should have, and it was snatched from her. She worked her life, and butt off for – just to go enjoy, you know, and she doesn’t get that, she doesn’t get that chance.”
Kim Gervais.GoFundMe
Sarvela added that her sister is now with her husband, whom she lost in the early 2000s: “I also know she was missing her husband very, very much, and that’s what gives me hope – that she’s with him right now. Gives me a lot of hope, and I know they are.”
“She was my sister, my caregiver, you know, even though I do have a mother, she basically raised us, and she was amazing, and I thank her very much to this day for helping me be who I am. And I hope she’s proud, because she’s a big part of that.”
“She’ll never leave my heart, ever.”
source: people.com
