I'm so sorry to hear of all your pain and loss. I hope the new year will be a better one for you.
I just want to say that you can do a binding by machine. I have done it many times and usually use a pretty stitch to make it show up. It holds up even better than a hand sewn one so I use it for quilts that are donated to Wrap-a-Smile and others that are going to other countries or children in general.