It's a decision no daughter should be forced to make - miss your father's funeral or face two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine, at your own cost, in the midst of your grief.
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But that's the heartbreaking decision Bec Reardon and her sister Hayley Peachey are currently facing following the recent death of their father Barry Peachey.
Barry sadly passed away in Moree on Sunday, August 16 and while his beloved wife Georgie was able to be by his side, his two daughters Bec and Hayley were unable to say a final goodbye as they both live on the other side of the Queensland border in Toowoomba.
When Barry was placed in palliative care, Bec and Hayley applied for an exemption to come to NSW to be with him in his final days and then be able to return the four hours home to Toowoomba via road.
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However, Bec found out the exemption was granted the day after her dad had passed away.
"It was too late," she said.
"They rang me on Monday and he passed away on the Sunday.
"In a time when family and loved ones should be coming together for support, our mum is separated from her only two daughters because we live in Queensland.
"What is already an emotional and stressful time, has only been exacerbated by the border restrictions."
Now, Bec and Hayley have had to apply for another exemption to be able to attend Barry's funeral in Moree.
This time however, they've been told there are no exemptions for funerals.
"We've been told that we can leave the state, but we can't return by road," Bec said.
"Instead of grieving and finding comfort with our relatives, and helping with funeral arrangements, I have been online applying for border exemptions, getting letters from the medical centre, escalating exemption requests with Queensland Health, making phone calls to state and federal MPs for both Toowoomba and Moree regions.
"I am even calling the funeral home trying to find out how long we can delay our dad's funeral in the hope that we can be there.
"All to be told that if we leave the state, we must then return via air, and be subjected to quarantine for 14 days.
"At the moment, some flights from Moree to Brisbane are over a 24 hour trip (due to numerous stop-overs) which is then actually placing us in multiple active hotspots.
"My sister and I both live in Toowoomba, it's only 360 kilometres from Moree and only takes three and a half hours by road. Apart from the costs of these flights, there is then the cost to quarantine; one person is nearly $3,000."
Bec and Hayley now face the tough decision of whether to go to the funeral and then quarantine for two weeks, or not go at all.
"It's so heartbreaking," Bec said.
"We were hoping this week there might have been some positive light in the tunnel, but our requests have been declined.
"In the coming days we will have to make a decision as to what we do, but I just don't know.
"What sort of daughter am I if I don't attend my own father's funeral, to not do everything in my power to be there?
"What sort of mother am I if I expect my children to conform to the quarantine restrictions with me just so I am not alone, knowingly denying them of fresh air and sunshine?
"What sort of person am I ... am I strong enough to be able to quarantine alone, to be away from my family and support network when I am already feeling sad and vulnerable, where the very thought of being in a motel room all alone for 14 days gives me anxiety?
"Does this feeling outweigh the grief and sadness when I contemplate my only other option of not going to his funeral? My mind is spinning. My heart is aching."
With Moree COVID-free and so close to the border, Bec doesn't understand why they can't be granted permission on compassionate grounds to enter NSW, even if it's just for the day, and then return the few hours by road where they could quarantine at home.
She is begging the Queensland government to review its border restrictions and classification of hotspots and hopes that by sharing her story, another family might not end up facing the same heartbreaking decision.
"Burying our father shouldn't be this traumatic, it is a basic right," Bec said.
"We should be able to attend his funeral. Period. We are not coming from a hotspot or going to a hotspot, I honestly don't believe we are putting anyone's health at risk by requesting this.
"We never got the opportunity to say one last goodbye to our dad, we were denied being able to be at his bedside during his final time, but we cannot stay quiet and be denied the one and only chance we have to lay him to rest.
"Please show us some compassion."
