With the heaviest, broken heart, I write this story.

There are some people in this world who spend their entire lives giving quietly, selflessly, and without ever asking for anything in return. My mom Heather is one of those people.

As a survivor of stage III breast cancer, she already fought one of the hardest battles life can give, and she did it with strength, grace, and unwavering love for her family. Now, she is facing an even more difficult fight. Her cancer has returned at 60, and progressed to metastatic breast cancer, spreading to her bones, spine, ribs, and lymph nodes, the doctors also have concerns about possible spread to her brain. This diagnosis has an estimated survival time of six months to three years. If you know my mom, you know she has so much more, beautiful life to live. She needs a PET scan urgently! So we can't start the specific treatment immediately. To help promise her a little more time with us.

My mom is more than a diagnosis.

She is a mother to 4 incredible, beautiful daughters, and an honorable son. She is a proud grandmother to twelve extraordinary grandchildren who adore her. Over the years, she has opened her heart and her home to so many others, taking in children who needed love, guidance, and stability when they had nowhere else to turn. She has been a steady light in so many lives.

My mom heather has always been one of the hardest-working people you could ever meet. Through her landscaping business, she has worked day in and day out, my entire life. often on her own, never afraid of long hours or hard labor. Providing, caring, and giving has always been who she is.

But now, everything has changed.

Due to the intense and constant pain she is experiencing, she is no longer able to work and needs immediate treatment to hopefully help prolong her life and bring her comfort. For someone who has always taken care of others, this is an incredibly difficult place to be.

This fundraiser is about giving back to her in the way she has given to so many.

All the money raised will go toward her medical treatments and everyday living expenses, helping relieve the financial burden so she can focus on what truly matters, spending meaningful time with her family, finding peace, and embracing the moments that make life beautiful. From now on it's about quality of life. The first steps are and main current goal is a pet scan so her oncologist can start a treatment plan. Her applications for state insurance is sitting gathering dust due to a backlog. So as of now, everything is out of pocket, which is not ideal when living paycheck to paycheck..

She loves nature, the quiet of a hike, the sound of the river, the feeling of being grounded in something bigger than all of us. She is deeply spiritual, endlessly kind, and always puts others before herself. Now, it’s our turn to surround her with that same love and care.

We never imagined we would be in a position to ask for help like this. But through God, faith, our family, and the strength of community, we believe it’s possible to give her the comfort, dignity, and quality of life she deserves in this next chapter.

Any donation, no matter the amount, means more than words can express. And if you’re unable to give, sharing this fundraiser or keeping her in your thoughts and prayers is just as meaningful. I will keep our beautiful community updated throughout this journey.

Let’s come together to lift her up, to ease her burdens, to replace stress with peace, and to fill her days with as much love, joy, and comfort as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read her story and for being part of a support system that reminds her she is not alone this time.

with all the love in my heart, her youngest baby, Penny Rae Poeppel.