Help for My Mom and Mamaw
Donation protected
I’ve never done this before so bear with me (read: this = ask for help in such a big way). My family really needs your help. Many may not know much about my family, but my Mom recently had two heart attacks and a couple of major heart surgeries to put in stents. She’s out of work, trying to recover at home because the hospitals in Texas are so overrun with COVID, and she needs help paying the massive amount of medical bills that have piled up.
First, a little about my Mom. My Mom, Robin, is a loving, gregarious, selfless woman. She’s currently a high school math teacher in Texas, where she teaches freshmen geometry and algebra. She always made herself readily available to all of her students for one-on-one help and those who took her up on it have had their lives changed for the better. My Mom helps students see how math is all around them. She even pulled TikToks into some of her lessons to try to reach young teenagers who believe that not caring is cooler than learning and growing. She’s an incredible teacher and dedicates her life to her students.
My 82-year-old grandma, whom I call Mamaw, lives with my Mom. The two of them are a force to be reckoned with on a normal basis. However, my Mamaw has also been struggling recently with several strokes and has been slowing down. And it is currently breaking Mamaw’s heart that she can’t help take better care of my Mom and it’s breaking my Mom’s heart that she can’t take better care of my Mamaw. The two of them are so stubborn (it’s a family trait) and have a really hard time asking for help. But they’ve always leaned on each other. Their relationship is so special. It’s the type of mother-daughter relationship that everyone wishes they had.
A little about how fierce they are: my Mom grew up in Northern Michigan in the 70s. She absolutely loved basketball but there was no girls team at her school. She started playing outside of school with a couple of friends, creating a sort of team. My Mamaw saw how passionate she was about it and they both went to the school demanding that a women’s basketball team be created. They were so convincing, the school agreed. My Mom got to be a part of the first women’s basketball team at her high school.
But their badassery does not stop there (of course it didn’t - they’re a force to be reckoned with, remember?). After a year, my Mom noticed that all the boy athletes got letterman’s jackets and she went home and told my Mamaw she wanted one too. My Mamaw just said, “Of course!” and went out to buy her one. The man at the store tried to refuse to sell it to them. Letterman’s jackets were for boys. But my Mamaw takes no shit from anyone and demanded that he sell her the jacket.
When my Mom showed up to school the next day, it caused quite the stir. The kids started gossiping, the boys got upset, and the principle got involved. He called up Mamaw and asked her to come to the school right away. My Mom and Mamaw sat there while the principal explained that my Mom needed to take off the jacket and never wear it to school again. Do you think that worked? Of course not. My Mamaw chewed him a new one and by the time they left that office, my Mom was allowed to wear her jacket whenever she wanted.
Both of them have always been so strong, but they really need help. Not only are there medical bills, but they could really use a nurse coming by occasionally to make sure they are both okay. At the moment, that’s completely out of the question due to finances. They can’t even think about getting that type of help until they can get out of the mounds of debt my Mom’s heart attacks have put them in.
It’s incredibly sad that I have to resort to asking friends and family and strangers for help with this. My Mom is 62 years old and has been a state employee for her whole career and she hasn’t been able to retire yet because teachers make so little. And she has only ever had state healthcare, which gives her the bare minimum health coverage. Even the prescriptions she needs to take are costing her $400. I think with COVID, we’ve all realized how incredibly essential teachers are to the fabric of our society. It’s a shame that they are paid so little and treated so poorly with bad benefits from the state.
But unfortunately, that’s the way things are right now. There isn’t a ton I can do to change that. But I can try to help my Mom and Mamaw by asking for your help. Please, if you have even a little to give, donate to them to help them get through this tough time. They would never ask for help themselves. I’m hoping to show them that they can rely on the kindness of strangers and that help is always there if you’re willing to ask for it.
Thank you for reading and I’ll be forever grateful to all of you who donate.
First, a little about my Mom. My Mom, Robin, is a loving, gregarious, selfless woman. She’s currently a high school math teacher in Texas, where she teaches freshmen geometry and algebra. She always made herself readily available to all of her students for one-on-one help and those who took her up on it have had their lives changed for the better. My Mom helps students see how math is all around them. She even pulled TikToks into some of her lessons to try to reach young teenagers who believe that not caring is cooler than learning and growing. She’s an incredible teacher and dedicates her life to her students.
My 82-year-old grandma, whom I call Mamaw, lives with my Mom. The two of them are a force to be reckoned with on a normal basis. However, my Mamaw has also been struggling recently with several strokes and has been slowing down. And it is currently breaking Mamaw’s heart that she can’t help take better care of my Mom and it’s breaking my Mom’s heart that she can’t take better care of my Mamaw. The two of them are so stubborn (it’s a family trait) and have a really hard time asking for help. But they’ve always leaned on each other. Their relationship is so special. It’s the type of mother-daughter relationship that everyone wishes they had.
A little about how fierce they are: my Mom grew up in Northern Michigan in the 70s. She absolutely loved basketball but there was no girls team at her school. She started playing outside of school with a couple of friends, creating a sort of team. My Mamaw saw how passionate she was about it and they both went to the school demanding that a women’s basketball team be created. They were so convincing, the school agreed. My Mom got to be a part of the first women’s basketball team at her high school.
But their badassery does not stop there (of course it didn’t - they’re a force to be reckoned with, remember?). After a year, my Mom noticed that all the boy athletes got letterman’s jackets and she went home and told my Mamaw she wanted one too. My Mamaw just said, “Of course!” and went out to buy her one. The man at the store tried to refuse to sell it to them. Letterman’s jackets were for boys. But my Mamaw takes no shit from anyone and demanded that he sell her the jacket.
When my Mom showed up to school the next day, it caused quite the stir. The kids started gossiping, the boys got upset, and the principle got involved. He called up Mamaw and asked her to come to the school right away. My Mom and Mamaw sat there while the principal explained that my Mom needed to take off the jacket and never wear it to school again. Do you think that worked? Of course not. My Mamaw chewed him a new one and by the time they left that office, my Mom was allowed to wear her jacket whenever she wanted.
Both of them have always been so strong, but they really need help. Not only are there medical bills, but they could really use a nurse coming by occasionally to make sure they are both okay. At the moment, that’s completely out of the question due to finances. They can’t even think about getting that type of help until they can get out of the mounds of debt my Mom’s heart attacks have put them in.
It’s incredibly sad that I have to resort to asking friends and family and strangers for help with this. My Mom is 62 years old and has been a state employee for her whole career and she hasn’t been able to retire yet because teachers make so little. And she has only ever had state healthcare, which gives her the bare minimum health coverage. Even the prescriptions she needs to take are costing her $400. I think with COVID, we’ve all realized how incredibly essential teachers are to the fabric of our society. It’s a shame that they are paid so little and treated so poorly with bad benefits from the state.
But unfortunately, that’s the way things are right now. There isn’t a ton I can do to change that. But I can try to help my Mom and Mamaw by asking for your help. Please, if you have even a little to give, donate to them to help them get through this tough time. They would never ask for help themselves. I’m hoping to show them that they can rely on the kindness of strangers and that help is always there if you’re willing to ask for it.
Thank you for reading and I’ll be forever grateful to all of you who donate.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kim Wetter
Organizer
Seattle, WA
Robin Wetter
Beneficiary