Hi everyone :) Before you scroll past this, please let me take a moment of your time to tell you about myself. My mother, Maria, has been battling for her life for the past 13 years. She was first diagnosed with Gastroparesis and Diabetes in 2007. The first time I experienced her illness was when I was 11. I woke up to the sound of her choking on her own vomit as she crouched over on her bathroom floor, gasping for air and clutching onto the toilet. I froze in utter fear and I couldn't get my brain to kick into motion fast enough but even in her state of desperation and panic, she pointed at her phone and instructed me to call 911. She was rushed into the hospital at 2am that day and from that day on, our second home was the hospital. Her journey with illness became a daily battle. She was diagnosed with Gastroparesis and Diabetes in 2007, Valley Fever, Mersa and Heart Failure in 2009. This all reached it's head in 2010 when she fell into respiratory distress after doctors administered an antibiotic to aid her Valley Fever and in turn, caused her lungs to give out. She was in a coma for two weeks, doctors had no hope for her but as my grandmother always says, God alwayd has the last word and by His grace alone, she pulled through. Unfortunately, her journey will illness has only gotten worse since then. She was diagnosed with end stage Renal Failure in 2015 and she's currently hospitalized after undergoing her 2nd emergency heart surgery and due to her years of battling illness after illness, her recovery has been overwhelmingly difficult. She's attached to a trache/ventilator, undergoing daily dialysis treatments, experiencing intense panic attacks, being poked and proded every hour just to stay alive and fight for her life. She cries, clutches onto my hands and tells me to make the pain stop. I can only caress her and tell her that everything will be okay when inside, I wanna cry and shout with her. To be the daughter of an ill mother is a journey on its own. I'm now the mother, the voice, the caregiver and the counselor. I am now the mother to her sons and the bearer of our homes responsibilities. I tell her that I can do this. I can be the rock that holds her up and I tell her not to worry about anything but her recovery. I tell her that everything will be fine, that I'm strong enough. But, the truth is, my mind so fragile and afraid. My lungs constrict everytime I see that the bills are piling up. My heart picks up everytime I get a phone call from the hospital telling me her insurance won't cover something, or that her doctor found something else we have to diagnose, my brain convulses everytime my little brother cries to me about how much he misses our mother or asks for help on his Trigonometry homework which my mother never hesitated with....the truth is, I am not strong enough to do this on my own.  My family and I need help! It seems like everyday is getting more and more complicated and we're barely able to inhale our breath before another huge wave hits and sinks us right back into the floor. I lost my job in June due to my mother's hospitalization and although, I've applied almost everywhere for another, it's been increasingly difficult to balance going to school, taking care of my little brother, job interviewing and being at the hospital everyday. Our rent is going to increase in September, our transportation means are scarce since we rely on buses and Lyfts to get around, our grocery money has to be rationed due to our assitance being cut in half, our Electric bill has also increased due to the swarming heat, and we're barely able to make ends meat with our aide, my immediate family's humble generosity and my elder brothers part time job. I know we're all struggling in this economy and believe me when I say that I wouldn't ask this of anyone unless our family truly needed the help! Even if all you can help with is by donating 50 cents, sharing this on your social media or sending a prayer our way, we immensely appreciate anything and everything you can do to help us stay afloat in this sea of madness and pain. God bless all of you beautiful souls and thank you for taking a moment to read this