My name is James. I’m a father and husband, a son-in-law, and a hard worker . At the end of the day, I’m just a guy trying to do the best I can.

This year has been a year. We started in January welcoming in our miracle and surprise daughter, Luna. She was born in respiratory distress and had low birth weight, which necessitated two stays in the NICU across a few different weeks. Her grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she beat. I had a necessary surgery for a fistula (the first of two surgeries to correct the problem), which then resulted in me contracting sepsis and spending a week in the hospital after two ambulance rides. I then had weeks of physical recovery and am still working through the mental and emotional trauma that was experienced. Once I came home from the hospital, Grandma went back to the hospital for a rash that turned into a kidney cancer diagnosis. The very night she came home from that diagnosis, she went back to the hospital after having a stroke.

My wife is working hard to take care of two of the best girls in the world, both under 2, a mother who is recovering from a stroke and still battling her second cancer of the year, and a husband who almost died and still needs to have another surgery. That’s just the health side of our day. There are home repairs that need to be made, and of course, Christmas is just around the corner. I work hard and I make decent money, but we’ve been hit hard this year and have been relying on family, some of whom are helping more than they should to try and keep us afloat.

I’m not someone who likes to ask others to take care of him. I try very hard to be the one who takes care of the people who need it, but I look at the faces of my daughters and I’d do anything for them to make sure they have anything and everything that they need. So I’m here asking those who are able and willing to help me and my family to please do so. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you can’t help monetarily, please know that prayer and good thoughts are appreciated as well. We’re looking forward to the coming year that is hopefully full of great health and happiness.