Financial help for the Sheridan family
Donation protected
1/6/14
Thank you all so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness during this fundraiser. The monies received are very much appreciated and will definitely be put to good use in the support of the Sheridan family as they all deal with the ugliness that EB brings them every day.
I'm closing the site down now, as it has gone in a direction that is far from my original intention. While the financial needs are real and ongoing, and the motivation behind setting up the campaign was sincere, I did not recognize the full emotional toll that might come along with the details of the situation becoming public. The ends do not always justify the means, and for any stress or uneasiness the creation of this site caused, I am truly sorry.
The Sheridan family is extremely appreciative and forever grateful for your love and support. Please keep them in your continued thoughts and prayers.
Blessings to you, and to those you love,
Rachael
This fund is to provide financial support to Marybeth Sheridan as she struggles to keep her family afloat during circumstances so horrific, few can even imagine them.
Marybeth is the single mother of (3) incredible children, Samantha, Chloe and James. Sam, who is 18 years old, was born with a rare, genetic condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) which doesn't allow the layers of her skin to bind to one another, leaving her with constant, excruciatingly-painful blistering and open wounds inside and outside of her body, and forcing her to remain bandaged all over her body to create a "false skin" and avoid infection. People with EB are often referred to as "Butterfly Children" as their skin is as fragile as a butterfly's wings.
In 2009, in an effort to save Sam's life, and "cure" her EB, Marybeth used all of the family's financial resources to get Sam into a bone-marrow transplant program, which has not proven to be as successful as they'd hoped. Since then the family has lost their home and the majority of their worldly possessions. Last year the Sheridans moved to another state where the climate is easier on Sam's skin, but since then Marybeth has struggled to find a steady job to support her family, and as a result, complicating things even further, they are now also without a car.
Samantha is currently back in the hospital, literally FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE. Marybeth is forced to make the choice, every day, of being with her critically ill child in the hospital, or working her job to keep them all in a home and fed.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: I'm asking that you please, PLEASE give what you can to help this family. Marybeth needs a car to make getting back and forth to the hospital and doctor appointments less of a struggle. She needs to catch up on back rent and utilities. Most importantly, she also needs to feel confident that even if, over the next few months, she takes time off from work to be with Sam in the hospital, her family will not be removed from their home or be forced to sit in the dark without electricity. If that sounds dramatic, it's only because IT IS!!!
Marybeth Sheridan is a fighter, and a generous giver, and she's passing these traits on to her children. She's helped countless numbers of people and co-founded charities to help families in dire situations, and now she finds herself in one. I want to ensure that Marybeth's "you reap what you sow" season is NOW, when the family is in definite need.
No sick young girl should have to sit in a hospital room alone because her mother has to work, and no parent should ever have to choose between the needs of their individual children. Please, help me to help this family.
Thank you all so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness during this fundraiser. The monies received are very much appreciated and will definitely be put to good use in the support of the Sheridan family as they all deal with the ugliness that EB brings them every day.
I'm closing the site down now, as it has gone in a direction that is far from my original intention. While the financial needs are real and ongoing, and the motivation behind setting up the campaign was sincere, I did not recognize the full emotional toll that might come along with the details of the situation becoming public. The ends do not always justify the means, and for any stress or uneasiness the creation of this site caused, I am truly sorry.
The Sheridan family is extremely appreciative and forever grateful for your love and support. Please keep them in your continued thoughts and prayers.
Blessings to you, and to those you love,
Rachael
This fund is to provide financial support to Marybeth Sheridan as she struggles to keep her family afloat during circumstances so horrific, few can even imagine them.
Marybeth is the single mother of (3) incredible children, Samantha, Chloe and James. Sam, who is 18 years old, was born with a rare, genetic condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) which doesn't allow the layers of her skin to bind to one another, leaving her with constant, excruciatingly-painful blistering and open wounds inside and outside of her body, and forcing her to remain bandaged all over her body to create a "false skin" and avoid infection. People with EB are often referred to as "Butterfly Children" as their skin is as fragile as a butterfly's wings.
In 2009, in an effort to save Sam's life, and "cure" her EB, Marybeth used all of the family's financial resources to get Sam into a bone-marrow transplant program, which has not proven to be as successful as they'd hoped. Since then the family has lost their home and the majority of their worldly possessions. Last year the Sheridans moved to another state where the climate is easier on Sam's skin, but since then Marybeth has struggled to find a steady job to support her family, and as a result, complicating things even further, they are now also without a car.
Samantha is currently back in the hospital, literally FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE. Marybeth is forced to make the choice, every day, of being with her critically ill child in the hospital, or working her job to keep them all in a home and fed.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: I'm asking that you please, PLEASE give what you can to help this family. Marybeth needs a car to make getting back and forth to the hospital and doctor appointments less of a struggle. She needs to catch up on back rent and utilities. Most importantly, she also needs to feel confident that even if, over the next few months, she takes time off from work to be with Sam in the hospital, her family will not be removed from their home or be forced to sit in the dark without electricity. If that sounds dramatic, it's only because IT IS!!!
Marybeth Sheridan is a fighter, and a generous giver, and she's passing these traits on to her children. She's helped countless numbers of people and co-founded charities to help families in dire situations, and now she finds herself in one. I want to ensure that Marybeth's "you reap what you sow" season is NOW, when the family is in definite need.
No sick young girl should have to sit in a hospital room alone because her mother has to work, and no parent should ever have to choose between the needs of their individual children. Please, help me to help this family.
Organizer
Rachael Richmond
Organizer
Ann Arbor, MI
