Hi, my name is Correne and I am raising funds for my mom's hospice care. My mom Barbara was diagnosed with Stage 3 Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer on July 22, 2023. Because she was so dedicated to taking care of others -- as a teacher, a day care owner, a mother and a daughter -- she didn't prioritize her own health and didn't discover the cancer earlier. (PSA: Get your screenings!!)

Despite the daunting odds, my mom fought this -- hard. Between July and November, she was hospitalized seven times with severe infections, which delayed her tumor removal surgery. And while the surgery was considered a big success, she continued to struggle -- but she never lost her fighting spirit. C. Diff. Sepsis. Kidney disease. You name it. And things were looking up. Until a scan on Feb 14 revealed aggressive metastases to her liver and abdominal cavity. (To give you an idea just how fast moving this f#@king cancer was, a scan just three weeks earlier looked completely clear.) The past two weeks have been horrible and terrifying in so many ways. As bad as things had been at times, I never thought my mom, incredible fighter that she's always been, would lose this battle. And I never thought I'd be on GoFundMe asking for help.

Our health care system, especially for seniors, is broken. Through my work in politics and government, I've used my inherited grit and fighting spirit to try and improve things, but here we are. Those of you who know my mom know how much she'd hate that I'm doing this, but her rapid decline didn't allow us to make advance preparations to help me cover all of her bills and expenses.

I humbly welcome your generosity to help cover her outstanding medical bills, hospice room and board, funeral costs and pet care. And when I pick up the pieces, I hope to rededicate myself to fighting for a better future. It's what my mom would want (nay, demand).

With love and gratitude,

Correne