Help support my son & I through these tough times.

I am a single mother of a child with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Jacob is 8 years old and he’s talented, curious, and funny. It takes lots of support, a village, to raise a child. When a child with developmental disabilities has two parents, frequently one parent is the full-time advocate for the child. In our family it is only me. We have my mother and friends but it’s mostly just the 2 of us.

Our journey has been quite difficult in the past few years. While my son continues to make great progress, I am drowning. In September 2019 I had heart failure and worked a 4 days/week schedule to help me recover and keep my appointments with 10 different physicians. Then the pandemic came in March 2020 and the world changed.

I was still on a modified work schedule, but that first month I would work late into the night and before the start of my workday to ensure that my employers could maintain a “seamless experience” for their clients. My health thankfully was improving. My son and I were safe and that was all that mattered. However, on the day I was to receive my bonus, I was fired without cause. To my employers I was no longer a valued and respected member of the team. Instead I was a cog in the machine, a replaceable part, used until it was broken.

How could they do this to us at this time? How was I going to support our family? How was I going to continue to recover?

For the past 3 years I have spent nearly $20,000 annually on my medical expenses. I was able to support us with savings. When that money ran out, I was forced to liquidate my 401k retirement account. Then I turned to credit cards to survive. Now I have tremendous debt, including a personal loan from someone close to me.

Now I am facing another health issue. I was diagnosed last summer with thyroid cancer and am starting my radiation treatment. My overall health has depreciated now. My road to recovery has been long and lonely.

Without some help, I am not sure how we will live. The economic system in this country crushes workers until we have nothing else to give.

When I was still working outside the home, I was already overwhelmed with all my responsibilities as a single mom and as an office worker. Now, with new life-altering health issues, I am barely hanging on. I am asking if you can contribute to help support Jacob and myself during this critical time. I am exploring many options, but until I come up with a solution, I need to pay my rent, my health care expenses and utilities, and feed my son and myself.

I want to survive. But even more than that, I want to thrive. I want all of us working people to have health care, housing, and be able to care for our families without having to work so hard that we become ill and shattered.

I can’t be his entire village anymore. Without some help I am not sure how we will live. This system crushes us until we have nothing else to give. The sole responsibility to navigate it and find solutions is on each of us.

So, I am here to ask for your help. Please join our village and contribute what you can, any donation will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.