This fundraiser is for Carolynn and her daughters, Wren and Anna, who are facing an overwhelming and life-altering crisis.

Carolynn, 59, is a mother and a nurse who has devoted her entire life to helping others. On August 19, 2025, she suffered a sudden and severe ruptured brain aneurysm. There was no warning. She was in a coma for weeks, and her family did not know if she would survive. Thankfully, Carolynn has pulled through the most critical phase, but her road to recovery is long and uncertain. Insurance recently stopped covering Carolynn’s rehabilitation and she will be returning home soon requiring 24/7 care. She is just beginning to relearn basic functions, including how to walk.

This emergency happened under especially heartbreaking circumstances for the Payne family. 10 years ago, Carolynn’s husband and the girls’ father, Bob, similarly suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him permanently disabled. Carolynn has been a rock for her girls ever since then, especially Anna, who has autism and struggles with mental health. In a cruel turn of events, her daughters are being forced to relive this nightmare. To now watch their mother go through a nearly identical tragedy as their father is a level of devastation that is impossible to put into words.

Wren graduated from an accelerated nursing program during her mother’s hospitalization—a testimony to her strength, and an accomplishment that should have marked the start of her career. Instead, at 24 years old, she has taken on every responsibility imaginable. What many don’t know is that Wren has spent the past year living with and caring for her grandmother while completing her degree. She is now her mother’s legal guardian as well, trying to balance caregiving with immense responsibilities. These include managing the family’s finances, medical decision making, housing, transportation, and the constant coordination required to keep them afloat.

After already living through her father’s traumatic brain injury as a young teenager, Wren is now navigating a second catastrophic brain injury in her immediate family—this time as the person who must carry everything alone. While she has done it with grace, it has been extraordinarily difficult, exhausting, and emotionally devastating.

The family needs help the most with:

This is a family defined by love and resilience. They are facing an unimaginable amount of pressure, fear, and uncertainty. Wren is doing everything possible to keep her family safe and stable, but the burden is far heavier than one person can realistically manage alone.

Any support—financial or through sharing this fundraiser—will directly help relieve the immense strain on the Payne family and allow Carolynn to receive the care she urgently needs.