The past week has been the most stressful and emotional time our family has ever experienced. Our mom is currently in the hospital fighting for her life after developing sepsis and kidney failure caused by a severe abdominal infection. While doctors are working around the clock to treat the infection, she is still battling fevers, low blood pressure, and an extremely high white blood cell count as her body tries to fight off the infection.

Right now she is not out of the woods yet, and every day feels like a waiting game as we pray her body to keep fighting and healing. Watching someone you love go through something this serious and painful is something no family is ever truly prepared for.

Even once the infection is under control, the road ahead will still be long. Doctors expect she will remain in the hospital until the infection leaves her body, and after that she will likely need 2-4 weeks in an acute care rehabilitation facility. Because of how much this illness has taken out of her physically, she will need therapy just to regain strength and relearn everyday tasks most of us take for granted.

Our mom has always been the heart of our family. She is the one who holds everyone together, the one who shows up when someone needs help, and the one who always puts others before herself. She has spent her life caring for the people around her.

Both of our parents are the kind of people who would give the shirt off their back to anyone who needed it, and they would never ask for help themselves. But right now, they are facing something bigger than any of us expected or were prepared for.

To make things even more difficult, our mom is currently hospitalized three hours away from home, which adds additional travel, time away from work, and daily expenses for our family as we try to be there to support her during this critical time.

Between the hospital stay, ongoing medical treatments, the rehabilitation facility she will need afterward, and my dad having to miss work during this crisis, the financial burden is quickly becoming overwhelming.

We are starting this fundraiser to help ease that burden so our parents can focus on what matters most right now—our mom’s healing and recovery.

Right now our mom is enduring unimaginable pain and fighting through one of the hardest battles of her life. Seeing someone who has always been the strength for our family lying in a hospital bed suffering is something we could never have prepared for. Even through the pain, our mom continues to fight, and we are doing everything we can to send her love, strength, and encouragement every single day.

If you are able to donate, share this fundraiser, or simply keep our mom in your thoughts and prayers, it would mean more to our family than we could ever express. Your kindness, support and positive energy will give her the strength she needs to keep fighting and remind our family that we are not alone during this incredibly difficult time.

Right now we are holding onto hope, praying for healing and strength, and believing better days are ahead for our mom.

Thank you for standing with our family during one of the hardest times we have ever experienced.