Introduction

My name is Ester, and this is the hardest thing I have ever written. I am a mother asking for help to save my daughter.

Who I Was Before Zoe

Before Zoe came into my life, I was a woman who carried my family and my community with strength and discipline. I come from a lineage of strong women, and I learned early in life to stand on my own two feet. I served my country, worked in intelligence, and lived through hardships I rarely speak about. When my first child, Jordan, was very young and struggling with severe allergies, I moved from New York to Miami so he could live in a healthier climate. In Miami, my daughters Ellie and Gaby were born. I raised my children with love, stability, and a deep sense of responsibility. Later, when Zoe arrived, our family grew once again. Today I am a grandmother to two beautiful boys, and I am an active and loving presence in their lives. I am the person my family and my community often lean on, the one who listens, supports, and steps in whenever I am needed.

A Life Devoted to Helping Others

For most of my life, my work and my choices were devoted to helping others live healthier, better lives. I worked in holistic wellness, organized community health events, and spent years helping people improve their nutrition and well-being. But nothing prepares you for the financial reality of having a child with a severe psychiatric illness. No matter how hard you have worked or how much you have saved, the cost of long-term care for a child like Zoe is more than almost any parent can bear alone. It forces impossible choices. I have already sacrificed everything I can. I have had to tell my other children that I can no longer help them financially. I have used my savings, their savings, and every available resource. And still, it is not enough to keep Zoe safe for the rest of her life.

The Call to Adopt Zoe

Everything changed the night I had a dream. A little girl appeared to me, crying softly, and said, Mommy, it is time. I woke up knowing that something in my life had shifted. I was being called to a child who needed me. I began the adoption process for a baby girl in China.

Zoe’s Beginning

Zoe’s beginning was heartbreaking. She was found on a side street in rural China when she was only a few days old. She spent the first year of her life in an orphanage with almost no human touch, very little stimulation, and barely enough nourishment to survive. When a reporter visited the orphanage and sent photos of the babies waiting for adoption, I recognized her immediately. It was the same face from my dream.

Bringing Zoe Home

When I finally held Zoe in China, she was one year old but weighed as little as a three-month-old baby. She could not swallow well. She could barely move. She never smiled. Her cry sounded like a howl of pain. She was severely malnourished and toxic. I brought her home to the United States and began years of healing: detoxification, physical therapy, craniosacral work, biofeedback, careful nutrition, supplements, and constant love. Slowly she began to recover.

A Single Mother of Four

When Zoe was four years old, my marriage ended. I became the primary emotional and financial support for all four of my children. I continued working, caring for them, and doing everything possible to keep our home stable while supporting Zoe’s unique and growing needs.

The Turning Point

School was always difficult for Zoe. She struggled socially and academically. She carried deep emotional wounds from early abandonment. In middle school, things became much harder. During COVID, she was bullied for being Chinese. The bullying broke through every layer of healing she had built.

Zoe began to withdraw. She became fearful. Then she experienced a complete psychotic break. She was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The Reality of Zoe’s Illness

Since then, our lives have been shaped by crisis after crisis. Zoe has been hospitalized many times. She has experienced overwhelming intrusive thoughts and suicidal episodes that are symptoms of her illness. At one point, these thoughts became so strong that she acted on them and stabbed herself multiple times. It was a deeply dangerous moment that made it clear she cannot live on her own, cannot be left unsupervised, and cannot safely manage her condition without twenty-four-hour professional care.

Why This Facility Matters and Why Zoe Cannot Be Placed Elsewhere

I have spent years searching for effective treatment, trying multiple facilities, programs, and therapeutic routes. Only recently have we found a residential setting where Zoe is improving with consistent supervision and trauma-informed care. Although she receives limited assistance through the California system, it covers only a small portion of her medication and does not fund the specialized care she requires. As her legal guardian, I receive daily updates from her treatment team and remain involved in every decision. Public psychiatric institutions, while important, are not designed for long-term individualized care. Communication with guardians is limited, and patients often cycle through short-term stabilization rather than receiving sustained therapeutic support. Zoe is emotionally vulnerable and needs gentle structure, consistency, and a safe environment where she can be monitored and cared for every hour of the day.

A Mother’s Breaking Point

I tried to save her on my own. But the level of care she needs is far beyond what any single person can provide. In the process, my own health collapsed. One day I fainted and woke up in a pool of blood. Doctors told me that had I waited any longer, I might not have survived.

Why I Need Help

Zoe’s illness requires a specialized residential program, constant supervision, trained caseworkers, medication management, therapeutic support, and a safe structured environment. These costs are enormous, ongoing, and long-term. I have reached the limit of what I can do alone. Zoe deserves safety. She deserves stability. She deserves a life with dignity.

A Mother’s Promise

I promised Zoe, from the moment she was placed in my arms, that I would protect her. Today, I am asking for help to keep that promise.

How Your Support Helps

Every contribution goes directly to Zoe’s care, including her residential treatment, supervision, therapy, medication, and basic needs.

With Gratitude

Thank you for taking the time to read Zoe’s story. Your generosity gives us hope that she can receive the care she needs and live with as much peace and dignity as possible.

With gratitude,

Ester

In the spirit of transparency, additional details regarding Zoe’s medical and psychological diagnosis can be found in the attached Psychological Evaluation Report.