For those who know me, I don't like to ask for help and my brother and his family are no different. However, sometimes in life adversity outweighs hope and people need help. A show of help that not only gives them the tangible or financial help they need, but in the emotional sense so they have the hope they need to get through these terribly difficult times.
To that end, my brother and his family need help. DESPERATELY. As if what they have endured to date (more on that below), on Tuesday the home they were renting was one of many in Houston that flooded. Not a little, the entire house was essentially underwater. They have renter's insurance, but it does not cover flooding.
They have lost everything, including their cars, and I'm not sure how much more this family can endure. The back story: My brother lives in Houston, works as a commercial construction supervisor and has arrived there from the ground up. He and his wife, also his high school sweetheart, together they have three children plus a fourth, Nina, who is a hard-working sophomore at LaGrange College. Their first daughter, Schae (age 11) was born with HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome- a complex and rare heart defect that presents at birth) and has undergone 3 open heart surgeries and continues to be treated for the condition and watch her progress carefully. Ava (age 10), their 2nd daughter, is a gregarious and outgoing 5th grader. Cooper (age 7) is their 3rd child and when he was 3 was diagnosed with Leukemia. Pictured here is a family portrait from last year when they celebrated Cooper's last day of a very long, stressful, painful and emotional three year treatment plan.
While many of us may know of a family that has unfortunately faced one of the above mentioned adversities, it is difficult to name many families that have faced, and continues to face, as many large scale difficulties as they have.If you ask them though, they will tell you "it's ok because we are all safe" or "it could be worse, it could be cancer" they try to find a silver lining in this cloud and to that they should be applauded.
We keep saying to this family, just get through this and it will be ok. They do, and then another large-scale adversity comes their way. My hope is that if a lot of people give a little, we will quickly reach this goal and maybe even exceed it and surprise Rob and his family with a show of faith and hope which is what they need right now to push on.
Thank you in advance,
Becca Eiland
(Rob's sister)