My son Aidan is an amazing son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend to many people. He is hilarious, respectful, and has a huge heart. My children lost my mom 14 years ago, in 2011, and then their own father in 2013. Their experience with death at an early age gave them a perspective on it that children just should not have to have. To the point that some losses, they had little reaction to because I think they just experienced so much of it! We’ve lost a lot of people. Six months after their father’s passing, Aidan had an asthma attack that nearly cost him his own life. The worst night of my life was watching my little 7-year-old boy pass away for 6 minutes and miraculously be brought back. About 7 years later, he went into anaphylactic shock, and I almost lost him again! This child has kept me on my toes, to say the least. But he is so special to us all, and he is his sister’s world!

Monday night, Aidan found himself in some trouble. I was in complete shock when I learned of what was happening. It felt like my world was closing, and I felt like a complete failure as his mother. And while I know I’m not a failure, there is just no handbook on raising 3 children without a father or father figure in their lives to give what I couldn’t. They needed a man to show them what I couldn’t and to guide them like only a man can. I’m laid back, but not good with conflict, and I am terrible at disciplining them. I only ever wanted to make them happy, not sad or mad. And I also harbor a lot of guilt for what they have had to endure as children and I struggled with holding them and myself accountable in certain situations. However, hindsight is 20/20, and I know where my shortcomings were.

He is a good kid, but he has certainly made some mistakes, mostly due to hanging around people that weren’t the best influence for him. I’m not blaming anyone else because I know he knows right from wrong. But I also know what the pressures of your peers can feel like. He is not a criminal, and he has never hurt anyone or would ever want to. He wants to make people laugh and chill. He’s so laid back! But he also has some mental health issues from the trauma he has experienced in his young life, and he’s having the wake-up call of his life. He knows right now is a turning point that he has to take full advantage of. I’ve told him that he is not his mistakes, and we all make them. Mistakes are not what define us or as important as what we do after making them. He is ready to dive headfirst into his passion for working with cars and making the decisions he knows he has to, to be a productive member of society.

My daughters and I are asking for your help and for donations so that we can bring him home and start getting him the help that he knows he needs. He has a long road ahead of him that’s going to continue to show him that these mistakes are simply not worth the consequences that come with them. Please help us bring my son home. Anything will help, and please share. My son is not a bad person. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body! And he’s certainly not meant to be or built for where he is.