It is with heavy and broken hearts that we share the news that Carole has been diagnosed with ALS.

ALS is a progressive neurological disease that weakens the muscles while the mind remains clear. She was originally given an estimate of six months, but her condition has declined faster than expected. Because she does not want to suffer through the most advanced stages of this disease, her time with us may be much shorter than that. Realistically, we may only have one to two months left. You may have heard of Eric Dane passing from this. It is a heartbreaking condition.

Carole has always been the strong one in our family. She is hilarious and lights up a room with her laugh. She has been the person everyone calls when they need advice or support. She would stay on the phone for hours helping us work through problems.

Before ALS, she hiked Queen Maeve’s Hill multiple times for fun and aimed to walk 10,000 steps a day to stay fit. She loved going to the local pub for live Irish music, spending time with her church community, traveling to Bulgaria, and caring for her adopted kittens. She also wrote Irish romance novels about the fae — Ireland truly feels like her soul’s home.

Now she can no longer hike or move freely. Her speech is slurred, and she needs assistance with mobility.

What makes this harder is that she is currently saving her pension to cover her own funeral expenses instead of using that money to enjoy the time she has left.

In Ireland, a modest burial with a headstone and basic flowers typically costs between €8,000 and €12,000. She does not want to leave that financial burden behind for her family, so she is trying to cover it herself.

We would like to raise enough to:

• Cover her funeral, burial, headstone, and simple flowers

• Allow her to use her remaining time for small outings — especially trips to the sea and visits to places she loves

• Help family members who cannot currently afford travel to come see her while they still can

If we raise more than the funeral costs, any additional funds will go toward private home care so she can spend her final days at home in the countryside — with birds outside her window and her cats nearby — instead of in hospice with limited visiting hours.

If you are able to contribute or share this, we are deeply grateful.

Thank you for helping Carole focus on living, not planning her own goodbye.

Please show your support for Carole by donating. If you cannot afford to donate please say a prayer for her, or send her a message to say hello. She is thrilled to hear from everyone!

With eternal gratitude,

— Carole's family