how to drive the bereaved crazy over $250

I made an informed decision, several weeks ago, to take a short trip to Vegas. I needed something to look forward to and to do something nice for myself. I purchased my ticket, after a lot of consideration, on a Friday afternoon. Hours later, I got a call from my dad that my mom had been admitted to Hospice. I spent the next week wondering whether I'd make it to Vegas, and spent the week after that feeling pretty confident that I would, all based on how my mom was doing. I am not in Vegas right now, obviously.

I began the process of seeking a refund on my non-refundable ticket on Monday evening, a few hours before my mom passed away. Here is what I've got so far:

1. Call NWA reservations line. Get a message saying that because of high call volume, I should e-mail them because they can typically respond in 2-3 hours.

2. E-mail NWA about the situation. Get an automated e-mail that says because of high e-mail volume, they will respond to my e-mail in 5-7 days.

3. A day later, get a generic response that my ticket "may" be eligible for a refund and that I should call the NWA reservations line. You know, the one I called in step 1.

4. The reservations agent said I should call some other office, which we will call office #2.

5. I call office #2 and am referred, via automatic message, to office #3.

6. I call office #3 and its automated message says that I should e-mail (did that!) or call the reservations line (did that!) for faster assistance. It then informs me that because all of their agents are busy, they cannot take my call right now, and the line goes dead.