2024 and 2025 have not been great for me and my family. I lost my job last fall and have been trying to work wherever I can to make ends meet.

Now, I am being faced with a health crisis. Today, May 20th, I received a health diagnosis of Stage 2 bladder cancer. We believe that we caught it early enough. Surgery is scheduled for June 9th to remove the mass and some surrounding tissue. We're hoping not to go the radiation route. And, I will not go down without a fight.

With the recent death of our beloved Ziva, her vet bills burned through my reserve fund and the rising cost of everything has depleted my savings with unemployment ending next week. Luckily, I have 12 weeks of state leave and applied today, but that can take up to 6 weeks. I have Ali's braces payments, groceries, co-pays, and now my car's wheel bearing is going out at $300-$500 plus labor to fix. I unfortunately cannot rely on child support due to the girls' dad not paying.

Anything at all helps accomplish the task of getting us through the next month.