Hi, my name is Jonathan, and the beautiful woman you see in the picture is my mom.

My understanding of most things good in the world were defined by her. No matter what new low point my life was at, she was always right there. All I ever had to do was reach out and I would find her warm embrace waiting for me full of every emotional vitamin someone could need. She was always the source of unconditional love, support, wisdom, and a frankly insane level of patience to guide me. She was always there to validate my feelings, I could share anything with her and she would never judge me, even when I clearly deserved it. She means the world to me and I love her. To be honest, she means the world to most people around her, she's the kind of person who you can tell genuinely cares for everyone in earshot of her.

Now she’s the one who needs me. My mom is the one who needs help, and it feels like such a monumental task compared to how easy she made being there for others look.

A few month’s ago, my mom started getting really sick. At first it was a particularly stubborn cough, then she started losing weight like crazy, she was constantly tired, and when the abdominal pain started becoming awful we knew something was up. So we took her to the doctor hoping for an answer and instead we found out the worst. The strongest, most loving person I know was diagnosed with large b-cell lymphoma, and it felt like suddenly everything right about the world had the rug pulled out from under it. All of the stability in my life was shaken as her future was suddenly rewritten. Since that point she's been undergoing chemo, which has been incredibly tough on her physically and emotionally. She now has to live with fatigue that constantly plagues her, nausea that makes many moments completely unbearable, weakened immunity so she's always fighting sickness, constant trips to the doctor. For half a year we've been fighting like this, and each day things get just a little bit more difficult. There are ups and downs, but it feels like it’s my responsibility to make sure the ups happen, and each down feels like taking steps backwards.

I've been trying my best to balance everything, but slowly I feel myself falling behind. Our medical bills pile up with each appointment, costs which while we struggle to afford them, seem to always be the discount option. Though I'm happy to be by her side, each visit and stint of after-care also means hours of work I'm missing. She always managed to make tough times work while I was growing up, and now that its my turn, I feel her burden and I'm struggling. What I want is to be able to give my mom the best care possible. Show to her that her love didn't go unanswered or wasted, but its been so difficult. Even though I'm working as hard as I can, I'm here, and I'm forced to ask for help. I can't do this on my own. The bills keep getting bigger, and we are hitting a wall. If there was ever a person worth being held up by her community it's my mom. She's always been the one who took care of everyone else. The one responsible for raising our family, working hard, supporting others, and never asking for anything in return. Now she's the one whos helpless and there's nothing more we can do, and it's breaking my heart to see her fight this battle with her hands tied. She is a warrior and she could do so much more if someone just handed her a sword. So please, send your prayers, donations, anything you can. Each voice of support even if its small will be one among a choir to give us the breath we need to just take one more step together. In my head that's how I always imagined prayer to work, each voice combining into a song to help guide and accept his mercy.

If you are reading this, even if you don't have much to spare, please help my mom. We are so close to making it and every bit of support is an embrace letting us know we aren't alone.