Help Carolyn Garrison Overcome Financial Struggles

Hi, my name is Grace Garrison. Many of you know my mom, Carolyn Garrison, through friendship, work, acquaintances, her humor, and her big heart. What you might not know is mom has had a lot of struggles throughout her life, but she has always tried to push through those struggles and hope for the best outcome.

My mom lost her dad when she 28 years old, her dad, my grandpa, was only 59. My mom was extremely close to her dad, and misses him daily. I’ve heard the stories, and wish I could’ve met him. Some of you may not know that I was born 9 weeks premature due to my mom having complications with her pregnancy. Mom struggled from 7 th grade on through her adult life with Endometriosis, and had six surgeries for it before she conceived me. Mom calls me her “miracle baby”. She endured a rough pregnancy, to include bed rest and large doses of steroids (which over the years did damage to her body/organs) to push my development along. Mom prayed for a little girl to love and raise like she herself had missed out on growing up in the shadows of her older siblings. I call my mom my best friend, and she will say I am hers.

Over the years, mom developed health issues. Issues that no one else in her family encountered. In 2007 her journey with Skin Cancer started and is still ongoing. She sees the Dermatologist frequently to keep an eye on spots that continue to show up on her body, even though she stays out of the sun. In 2011, mom was diagnosed at the Cleveland Clinic with Fibromyalgia. Not long after that, she developed arthritis in her hands. My mom has always typed for a living, it is her livelihood. That diagnosis caused her to start the journey of arthritis pain medication. Over the years, other little health things arose, until 2017, when mom became very ill and had to have emergency surgery. That scared me to death. The doctors thought she had Meckel’s Diverticulitis. Two weeks after that surgery, she learned that what they removed was a malignant tumor called GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor). For the next six months she was on chemo pills. I can now say that she has been in remission now for two years. During the time of her Fibromyalgia diagnosis and 2015, my parent’s marriage went down hill and they divorced. Another blow to my mom’s heart. In early July 2012, we had to put our dog, Sadie, down. About a week after Sadie left us, an old friend of my mom’s called us because she had a 6-month-old puppy she wanted us to meet. This dog, Lucy, became mom’s “heart dog”. Lucy LOVED everyone, but she was definitely a mommy’s girl. Like me. Both myself and Lucy have been there for my mom and vice versa.

In December 2023, one week before Christmas, my mom unexpectedly lost her job of 12 years. A non-profit job. Because the job was a non-profit job, she was not eligible to receive unemployment compensation. My mom has been on countless job interviews without luck. She learned through two of those potential interviews, that she was being discriminated because of her age. Over the next few months, my mom’s depression became much worse than it had ever been. Mom not only lost her job but was also diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis. Most recently, she was diagnosed with Stage 3A Kidney Failure. The root cause of the kidney failure was the arthritis medication. Doctors have taken mom off of her arthritis medication, as well as other medications. Mom struggles daily with pain and discomfort, especially walking, yet she keeps pushing herself to keep going.

Because my mom had no income coming in, she had to depend on family and friends to help try to keep up with her rent, as well as regular monthly bills to stay afloat. In June of this year, Lucy, our dog, was diagnosed with Kidney Failure. We thought we would have several more months with her, but that was not the case. After several Vet visits, countless bloodwork, and urine cultures, the Vet bill has been mounting. Mom has been paying a little here and there as she could. On top of that, mom had issues with her car including replacing the system that runs the defroster and needing new brakes. Another large bill that she is trying to pay a little here and a little there. Fortunately, just three weeks ago, after eight long months, my mom got a job. It’s a good job, but doesn’t pay what her previous job paid. It’s a job, and she likes it, even though she has to push through the pain of her arthritis daily, she wants to work and not sit at home.

Today, August 31, 2024, my mom had to make the decision to put Lucy down. Lucy had declined rapidly in the past week, and even though mom couldn’t stand to lose her, she knew it wasn’t fair to Lucy. Mom and I are both incredibly sad. My mom is devastated and heart broken. Lucy was her “heart dog” and the unconditional love a dog gives is now gone.

Now that you know what has been going on with my mom, I want to ask for your help.

Mom has her own medical bills, mechanic bills, and now Vet bills, I want to help relieve some of mom’s worry. She’s been through a lot in her life, especially these last eight months. Several of her friends and family have helped these last few months, I know she greatly appreciates everyone who has helped her through this difficult time, and truly doesn’t know how she can ever re-pay anyone. I’m wanting to raise at least $3,000 to help pay off those outstanding bills, and maybe have a little left over that she can use to get herself another dog (and pay for the

dog getting fixed and vaccinations) in the near future.

I love my mom, my best friend, and I want to help with her bills, and also mend her heart along the way . . . she has been through so much already. I want to see her happy again, and not constantly worry about bills, etc. Please consider donating, every little bit helps and adds up. Thank you in advance.