Alisa and her kids need our financial help

My dear friend Alisa is a wonderful, selfless, caring mom of two lovely children Alexis (14) and Jacob (10). In my eyes Alisa is a "Super Mom" and she does everything in her power to give her kids the love and support they need; her compassion and thoughtfulness for everyone she interacts with is another one of her super powers. Now she needs her friend's, community’s, and anyone's help as she navigates some very uncertain and changing times.

A few months ago, Alisa sent me a text apologizing that she hadn't been in touch and told me that Jacob has an undiagnosed chronic pain. Again, the selfless person in her comes out with her apologizing for not reaching out when I later find out how overwhelming and uncertain things have been for her and her family.

Their lives began to change the first week of April when Jacob began to experience pain in his feet that progressively got worse and by the weekend was through his entire body in every muscle. He could not get dressed, raise his arms above his head, be held, or even hold his cutlery because of excruciating pain. Then Alexis broke her collar bone after a fall in soccer; she is slowly healing and immobilized in a sling for 6 more weeks.

Over the last 2 months they have had multiple trips to the ER, blood tests, and doctors’ appointments, but the doctors still don't know what is causing the pain for Jacob. His life has completely changed, and he can't do any of his usual physical activities he loves such as baseball, soccer, biking, hiking, running & playing. This usually very active family is needing to learn to adapt.

For Jacob the pain is present 24/7. Pain medications have provided very little relief. Alisa is homeschooling him because he is only able to go to school for 2-3 hours a day and only 2-3 times a week. Fortunately, he is still mentally very vibrant.

Alisa is doing all she can to support Jacob through this time while doctors continue with tests to understand what is happening. They have pain management supports in place for him as well as the reassurance & support for emotional and psychological components of life altering pain. He has a Pediatric Rheumatologist appointment in Victoria soon and will hopefully get more answers.

Right now, Alisa needs to be able to do what she does best, which is to be there to support her family and not have the added stress of worrying about how to make sure she has enough for her family financially. This is where we can all help!

Alisa is self-employed as a registered massage therapist and she is excellent at it, but she has needed to miss a lot of work because her family needs her more than ever right now. Knowing the care she will need to give Jacob is most likely longer term, she is already applying for financial support from various places, but this funding is not guaranteed and takes upwards of a year to be received if she’s eligible.

Over the years Alisa has made financial sacrifices to ensure her family is well with some savings for situations like this. But with this additional significant reduction in her work, she has no more savings left to pull from. She needs help now with financial stability for her family as they navigate through this unpredictable and challenging time.

We all know the cost of living has gone up and everyone is feeling stretched financially, but if you can please donate any financial amount, and spread this story, please know your money will be going to one of the most amazing and caring families I know. They will definitely appreciate your support.

Thank you