A small help goes a long way for Emily

Friends and family of Emily know how selfless and reserved she can be. Therefore, it is unlikely you know she is currently taking on too much, and quietly.

 

For several years now, Emily's mom has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. And while procedures are helping, her pain level is extreme, she is bedridden and reticent for care outside of the family during this vulnerable time. COVID has not helped the situation. Reliable and safe help has been difficult. With the pandemic going on two years+, Emily has been homeschooling her son, learning how he learns with his ADHD, maintaining the household, and caring for her mom. What this looks like is scrambling to find a safe activity or child care for her son so she can get her mom to her medical procedure (2+ hours in car rides) or dropping everything to be accessible for her mom's daily personal care needs. It means being hyper focused on her mom's environment to try and bring pain from a 10/10 to any number below. It means sidelining her business and income because, well, that just has to wait. I can continue to list out the daily activities but for anyone that hasn't been in a caregiving situation for someone with a terminal illness, it is tiresome. It is the set of invisible chores that only take minutes but minutes add up to hours which add up to days with no end in sight. It is a never ending, distracting to-do list that doesn't allow one to truly be there for themselves or their loved ones. Then take all of that and wrap it in the heavy burden from COVID (anxiety, safety, isolation) and magnify it with worries of keeping our severely immunocompromised loved ones safe. It is a reality that if you know, you know.

 

Emily won't ask for help. And so we are, on her behalf. So that Emily can spend these precious moments caring for her mom, please help take some of the household burden off of her. We are fundraising to have reliable, safe house cleaning for Emily and her family to ultimately remove just one thing off her plate. The goal we are working towards equals a reliable, scheduled house clean every two weeks for a year. Even the smallest of contributions can add up to allowing Emily to catch her breath, be present with her mom and family, and add a bit of self-care to her never ending to-do list. Thank you kindly for helping us share Emily's burden.