OP seems to forget that at one time, the airlines did allow flexibilities on their fares, they even had bereavement fares for those that needed to make last minute travel arrangements during a difficult time. Blame it on the general public that abused this flexibility and now airlines have changed their views. We all have to accept it. At this point, my only suggestion is to see if there is any substantial schedule change in your ticket and perhaps you can just cancel it.