<div>Thank you all for taking the time to read our story. I had hoped not to need to reach out for help in this way, but unfortunately we are in a position that necessitates a broader reach. We appreciate everyone for considering us and sharing our story.
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<div>Our family is humbled and struggling. I didn’t want to burden anyone else to create this campaign for us, so I’ve swallowed my pride and here we go… I’m writing this on behalf of myself, my husband Jim, our beautiful 5-year-old son Andrew, my mom Nancy and brother Scott. We all live together and have put all we can into making our lives secure and happy, and filled with love and support for each other. However, we have come to a temporary place of financial need, and are asking for help. We are deeply aware of the devastating effects this pandemic has had on thousands of local Las Vegas families and millions of families nationwide. In March of 2020, I started a Facebook group to reach out and bring people together to help each other during such difficult times. Our group, “H.E.R.O. of Las Vegas”, has now grown to over 8000 members. During the last 18 months, we set up a community pantry, collected and disbursed food and household supplies, and provided holiday meals and gifts for every major holiday. Over 3100 families received grocery deliveries from our pantry, and more than 15000 local adults and children received help for holidays, birthdays, and back-to-school needs. Our group members have stepped up to fill thousands of their neighbors’ needs aside from what our little pantry has provided. So many people have come together to love and support each other to this day, and we are so grateful for, and humbled by, the true selfless and compassionate gifts of humanity the group has brought to our community. Unfortunately, for the past few months, we’ve had to take a step back from the group to handle our family and business needs. We are anxious to get back to the business of giving as soon as possible, but we still need time to recover our own life and get ourselves to a safe place, physically, mentally and financially.
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<div>On August 3rd, I went in for a long awaited spinal surgery. I had been suffering for years with excruciating lower back pain due to a condition called spondylolisthesis, or slipping of the spine, as well as some less serious disc and nerve issues in the same area of my spine. I was nervous about getting the surgery because we had just had to move into a new home due to our homeowner wanting to sell, and my brother Scott had been in the hospital for almost two months battling sepsis and the ensuing lung, heart and kidney failure. Needless to say, we had a lot going on and the stress of it had taken a toll on us all. No one was prepared for what happened next, least of all, me.
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<div>I came out of surgery paralyzed from the waist down in both legs. Fortunately, my right leg woke up within a couple days, but my left leg still hasn’t improved to this day. Instead of feeling in my leg, I experience unrelenting excruciating pain constantly, day after day. Jim (my beautiful husband) has become my full time caregiver, as I cannot walk, stand or do much of anything on my own, all the while caring for our son mostly on his own, and with grandma’s help. My surgeon has no idea why I’m experiencing this paralysis, nor any real ideas about how to fix it. My physical therapist believes it could be a year or more before I’m able to walk again, and gain regular feeling back in my leg.
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<div>Meanwhile, my mom has taken on all of the responsibilities of tracking my brother’s care in the hospital, and is now training to become his full time caregiver at home, as he is finally set to be discharged next week. Jim and my mom have worked on unpacking boxes, keeping up on daily cleaning and meals, and have really pulled out all the stops to keep our little one smiling and our home running while I’ve been completely out of commission.
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<div>Throughout these adverse times, Jim and I have not been able to handle and keep our business running smoothly, hence our income being effected severely. We also learned today that all of our unemployment has disappeared, not just the extra $300/week from the stimulus, which we had thought would be the case. This loss creates a $5000/month deficit in our income now, and we are at a loss as to how to move forward and pay our living expenses while I heal. None of us are able to leave the house and find full time work to make up the income because of my current state of disability and my brother’s total disability and the caregiving needs that come with it. I have desperately been trying to catch up on our business orders, but at this point I can only work about an hour at a time, a few days a week. On top of the paralysis, I’ve had two major debilitating falls on my dead leg, causing me to lose more work time and pushing my mobility progress back to square one. We have had to refund dozens of orders, and our finances can’t take any more hits at this point. We need your help. Our hope is that, with a few modifications and a little more time, we will be able to work our business more full time very soon. With the holiday season quickly approaching, our goal is to get my stamina and energy and mobility to a place where we will be able to maintain an income that will carry us through this tough time. I cannot wait to be able to increase my productivity and get our family back on track, financially secure, and ready for the future. 
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<div>Again, I appreciate you reading our story, and ask that if you are able to contribute anything at all to our family, we are grateful. We understand that there are so many families struggling right now, and going through similar income situations with the loss of unemployment benefits hitting the whole nation hard right now. We would appreciate a simple share of our fundraiser whether you can help financially or not. Thank you again, and much love from our family to yours. 
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Debra Ballentine

Kate Warner

Anonymous

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Marvin Deloney

Shirley Nave

Richard Villasana

Wendy Same

David Ng

Gloria Davidson

Mark Unno

We Humbly Ask for Your Help

We Humbly Ask for Your Help

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