From Cancer to Single Mom: Trying Not to Panic as We Rebuild

Hi everyone,

When I started this GoFundMe during my cancer treatment in 2019, I believed it would be a one-time ask. That once I got through chemo, radiation, and a single surgery, life would settle — and I’d never need to lean on my community again.

But the truth is, the road to stability has been long, painful, and far from linear.

Before the diagnosis, I had already been through so much.

I was a surrogate — three times — giving life to other families.

Then I adopted my two youngest children, Julian and Kenzington.

Two weeks after Kenzie’s adoption was finalized, I was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer, the same cancer that ended my father's life. I went through chemotherapy and radiation, then had my first surgery (removal of my rectum and given a temporary ileostomy). What followed was nearly eight months of being in and out of the hospital. I had the ileostomy reversed, but soon after, I began experiencing small bowel obstructions and had to go on a liquid-only diet for about four months. Eventually, I received a permanent colostomy — and because of how much radiation had damaged my tissue, my body couldn’t fully heal. That led to even more surgeries and complications (including hyperbaric chamber treatments, a skin graft, and a abdominal wall reconstruction that I'm still healing from) — and a long, painful road to recovery.

Then after allllll of that came a divorce, and a long stretch of rebuilding in every sense of the word.

I’ve posted updates over the years — sometimes vague, sometimes hesitant — never quite sure how to say, “I still need help.” But I do. We do.

I just moved across the country with my three children and our dogs.

We’re safe.

We’re healing.

We’re in a new home.

But we are not yet stable.

Here’s what we’re facing right now:

• $9,000 – Rent & utilities (3 months in our new home while income ramps back up)

• $6,000 – Childcare coverage so I can continue seeing clients

• $4,500 – Car payments, insurance & transportation

• $5,000 – Tax attorney and urgent IRS issues

• $3,000 – Outstanding medical bills & prescriptions

• $2,500 – School supplies, fees, and clothing for the kids

• $5,000 – Breathing room to finish building Root to Fruit, my online learning program that teaches the techniques I use in traditional therapy sessions — so this healing work can reach the people who need it most.

This isn’t about luxury. This is about stabilizing a family that’s already done the hard part — surviving.

With this bridge, we can finally land where we belong.

Every dollar donated helps us hold steady in this in-between space.

It gives me time to finish what I’ve started, and to build a truly sustainable life — not just for me, but for the family I’ve fought for.

If you can’t give right now, I completely understand. But please consider sharing this with your community — on social, in a text, or even in a group chat. The more people who see this, the more likely we are to get the support we need to fully land in this next chapter. Sharing really does help.

This isn’t about crisis.

This is about claiming what’s finally ours.

With love and fire,

Megan

PS. This GoFundMe isn’t about crisis — it’s about transition.

It’s here to support a mother who has:

• Been a surrogate three times

• Adopted two children

• Survived cancer and permanent colostomy

• Endured over five years of medical trauma and surgeries

• Navigated divorce and a cross-country move with three kids and three dogs

Funds raised will go toward:

• Rent and utilities while building the business in RI and reestablishing a business in IL

• Childcare to enable steady income

• Car payments, school registration, and tax debt

• Time and breathing room to launch “Root to Fruit” — a powerful healing program built from everything I've lived, learned, and just KNOW to be true.

This isn’t about going backward. It’s about claiming the life that’s been waiting — with clarity, integrity, and the courage to ask for help at the exact moment it matters most.