A heartbroken dad has told how he desperately tried to revive his wife after finding her unconscious on the bathroom floor as they got ready for the school run. Devoted mum Kasia Czubinska, 44, was found by her husband Graziano Borghese at the family’s Edinburgh home on April 28.
The father of Mya, 16, Giulia, 13, and Antonio, 5, tried to give her chest compressions until the ambulance arrived - but she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. The grieving widow is now selling his business as the family adapts to life without Kasia.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, he said: “We had a coffee in the morning together like we always do before taking the kids to school, we have two bathrooms so I went to have a shower and Kasia went to get ready. I had my shower and went to check on Kasia and found her in the toilet passed out.
"My daughter had to call the ambulance and we had the phone on speaker with them and I was doing chest compressions until they arrived. Finding her like that was horrific.
"She was still warm and the ambulance was on its way so I thought she would survive but she never woke up." The distraught dad continued: "They think she had a stroke but we are still waiting for the autopsy to come back.
"She had high blood pressure but it was under control and we never expected anything like this to happen." The couple met in Bermuda and were together for 18 years and married for ten before setting up a life together in Leith with their kids.
Remembering his wife Graziano said: "She loved her kids so much, she was so friendly, always smiling and just a happy woman, full of life and very sociable. My kids understand what happened and are still in shock, I don't know what our future will hold now.
"I can't work like I did before and need to sell my business. Now I need to dedicate all of my time to making sure our children will be okay. I'm scared about how we will cope now - it has completely changed our lives."
Graziano may have to sell his business and is living off the family's savings while they adjust to life without Kasia. While friends and strangers alike have donated to a fundraising page.
He explained: "We were able to use it to pay for the funeral and have money there for my girl's future. I want to take them to New York to see their mum's friends over there and take her to see Monika her best friend who is like a second mother to the girls."
Best friend Monika Aronson set up the fundraiser to help the family and talks to Kasia's daughters every day. She posted: "Kasia was only 44 when she suddenly passed away on April 28, 2023.
"On that day, a light was extinguished from the world. There was nobody like her. Anyone who knew Kasia was surrounded by her unique enthusiasm for life, genuine love and formidable light.
"No matter what setbacks she endured in life, she moved forward, always seeing the positive in the negative. And no matter where she made her life - whether it was Poland, England, the United States, Bermuda, or Scotland - she effortlessly made friends. She was like a magnet. She had energy for everyone."
She added: "She devoted her entire adult life to being a mother, and her path wasn't always easy. She endured low-wage jobs so she could be there for her kids because nothing made her happier than being as present in their life as she could possibly be.
"Now her three children aged 5, 13 and 16 have a hole in their lives that will never be filled, and they are deeply traumatised by this sudden and unexpected loss.
"Kasia was the glue that held the family together. Now that she is gone her three children are faced with challenges too painful to bear as they are forced to adjust to a life without their mom."
You can find out more and donate to the fundraising page here.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
