I'm Paula, Collin's mom.

Collin was diagnosed with heart failure in 2023, we were in the hospital for three months at Texas Children's Hospital downtown when he first got sick.  He received an LVAD heart pump. He was battery powered for a year and a half. His body had to be healthy enough to receive the new heart. It has now been a year since he had the transplant surgery. We are in so much debt. From medical to legal to everyday debt trying to provide for him by myself.  His medications are about $1,000 a month.  I am a single parent and have no one to help me. He is a 15-year-old boy now and wants to be as normal as possible. We are struggling financially. There have been delays with money coming in from child support to work. We’ve had months of no money coming in at all. We have borrowed and struggled. 

We need help. Money has been sporadic, and we've had to borrow a lot, and the medical bills are still there. We have been able to pay some, but we're drowning in debt. This is a lifelong commitment to keep him healthy. 

I also have heart failure. My heart stopped four times after he had his LVAD surgery. They put a pacemaker/defibrillator inside me, and I seem to be getting worse. My medication is about $500 a month, and there really aren't that many resources out there anymore for single parents. If you can find it in your heart to help us, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to give my boy a Christmas and, one day, maybe even some kind of vacation, but firstly we have to catch up on all the debt we're in due to me not being able to work regularly, I don’t have help with taking him to all of his appointments and procedures, so I can’t work regularly plus I have my own appointments and procedures. 

 We should be grateful to be alive but we aren’t really living when the burden of debt is constantly hanging over us.  I’m glad I am here to help him. That’s what a mom should do. Children come first. They always should.