Michelle's ALS fund
Donation protected
On June 21st, 2018 our mother, Michelle Gutierrez-Flowers,46, was diagnosed with ALS and our world was forever changed. We are a family of seven children, 2 of which have started their careers, 2 still in college and 3 all still in grade school. We will be by our mother’s side through it all, but there are many factors that come to play with ALS.
Here is what we have learned about ALS so far-
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. When these cells die, voluntary muscle control and movement dies with them. Patients in the later stages of the disease are totally paralyzed, dying from respitory failure, yet in most cases, their minds remain sharp and alert (my mom has reached nearly complete paralization in her left leg already).
The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is two to five years from time of diagnosis. (My moms doctors believe she has already had it for two years)
There is no known cause or cure.
Our mom, Michelle, is very loved by many friends and family. She, the most part of our life was the sole provider, financially, to all 7 of us, now it’s our turn. Our mom’s diagnosis has strained our family finances already, our mom is no longer able to work, and I, Micah, 20, have left my job, moved back home to help with my mom full time while continuing school, and helping with our younger siblings as my mom becomes less able. Carli and Ashley continue finding the best resources for my mom in bigger cities, and prepare for the move, since our mom won’t be able to make such long drives for much longer. We know financially it’s only going to get worse as the disease progresses more. Luckily since there are seven of us we are able to help many ways, by being there for my mom, helping with the little ones, and even financially, how ever we can, all while ensuring my mom and us spend the rest of our time together truly enjoying life. We have so many blessings to be thankful for but the biggest blessing is that we have been such a close net family, that even this tragic diagnosis has only brought all of us even closer.
Within the past 6 months my mom has gone from thinking her ankle was just hurting, and spending two years trying to figure out what was causing it, to complete weakness of her entire left leg within the last four months. From what we have learned the disease has no specific time frame and can spread in spurts, which is what we are seeing in our mom. Luckily we finally do have a name for what is causing her weakness, but we also are prepared for the fact that the disease is only going to progress to her entire body. We are choosing to use this diagnosis as a reason to spend as much time as possible together and continue creating family memories for the time we have left.
How you can help-
We created this GoFundMe because our family has a mission. We want to make our mom’s life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. We know we are about to endure many expenses for doctor visits, medical supplies and equipments, medical trips, out of pocket fees, even relocating so we can be closer to her ALS specialist team as well as 24 hour homecare when we are no longer physically capable of caring for her. Any donation will be used for these expenses directly, and if there is anything left after my mom passes, the money will be passed to the older sibling(s) who are caring for the younger siblings, 7, 10, 15 to ensure they are able to partake in anything they want to, just as are mom did for us, although the average cost of ALS is around $500,000.
We are not letting this disease get us down! We know God has a plan and we are letting him show us the way! We are learning so much about this rare disease, and our mom, being the analitcal person she is, is filling out every questionarre, submitting blood work, and helping in anyway she can to help find a cause which can one day lead to a cure for this disease! We encourage everyone reading this to learn a little more about ALS as well. We never thought our mom would ever be someone the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was advocating for. We know many people don’t know about the disease either, so we at least want to raise awareness. If there’s one thing my mom continues reminding us, it is to enjoy every single day we have and appreciate all the time we have, with the people we have, sick or healthy, and we hope you do too! We will continue to update everyone, who would like to keep up with Michelle’s progress on this website and appreciate any help we can get!
Please feel free to ask us any questions, we are all learning about the disease!
ALS facts from- http://www.alsa.org/news/media/quick-facts.html
Here is what we have learned about ALS so far-
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. When these cells die, voluntary muscle control and movement dies with them. Patients in the later stages of the disease are totally paralyzed, dying from respitory failure, yet in most cases, their minds remain sharp and alert (my mom has reached nearly complete paralization in her left leg already).
The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is two to five years from time of diagnosis. (My moms doctors believe she has already had it for two years)
There is no known cause or cure.
Our mom, Michelle, is very loved by many friends and family. She, the most part of our life was the sole provider, financially, to all 7 of us, now it’s our turn. Our mom’s diagnosis has strained our family finances already, our mom is no longer able to work, and I, Micah, 20, have left my job, moved back home to help with my mom full time while continuing school, and helping with our younger siblings as my mom becomes less able. Carli and Ashley continue finding the best resources for my mom in bigger cities, and prepare for the move, since our mom won’t be able to make such long drives for much longer. We know financially it’s only going to get worse as the disease progresses more. Luckily since there are seven of us we are able to help many ways, by being there for my mom, helping with the little ones, and even financially, how ever we can, all while ensuring my mom and us spend the rest of our time together truly enjoying life. We have so many blessings to be thankful for but the biggest blessing is that we have been such a close net family, that even this tragic diagnosis has only brought all of us even closer.
Within the past 6 months my mom has gone from thinking her ankle was just hurting, and spending two years trying to figure out what was causing it, to complete weakness of her entire left leg within the last four months. From what we have learned the disease has no specific time frame and can spread in spurts, which is what we are seeing in our mom. Luckily we finally do have a name for what is causing her weakness, but we also are prepared for the fact that the disease is only going to progress to her entire body. We are choosing to use this diagnosis as a reason to spend as much time as possible together and continue creating family memories for the time we have left.
How you can help-
We created this GoFundMe because our family has a mission. We want to make our mom’s life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. We know we are about to endure many expenses for doctor visits, medical supplies and equipments, medical trips, out of pocket fees, even relocating so we can be closer to her ALS specialist team as well as 24 hour homecare when we are no longer physically capable of caring for her. Any donation will be used for these expenses directly, and if there is anything left after my mom passes, the money will be passed to the older sibling(s) who are caring for the younger siblings, 7, 10, 15 to ensure they are able to partake in anything they want to, just as are mom did for us, although the average cost of ALS is around $500,000.
We are not letting this disease get us down! We know God has a plan and we are letting him show us the way! We are learning so much about this rare disease, and our mom, being the analitcal person she is, is filling out every questionarre, submitting blood work, and helping in anyway she can to help find a cause which can one day lead to a cure for this disease! We encourage everyone reading this to learn a little more about ALS as well. We never thought our mom would ever be someone the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was advocating for. We know many people don’t know about the disease either, so we at least want to raise awareness. If there’s one thing my mom continues reminding us, it is to enjoy every single day we have and appreciate all the time we have, with the people we have, sick or healthy, and we hope you do too! We will continue to update everyone, who would like to keep up with Michelle’s progress on this website and appreciate any help we can get!
Please feel free to ask us any questions, we are all learning about the disease!
ALS facts from- http://www.alsa.org/news/media/quick-facts.html
Organizer and beneficiary
Micah Jade Cordova
Organizer
Amarillo, TX
Michelle Flowers
Beneficiary