First off, I never thought I’d be doing this — I’ve always been the 'I got this/don’t let anyone see you struggle' type of person, but some things you plan for, and others come so unexpectedly you barely have time to process.

Meet Taylor “Gang” Michel - lover boy with a little spice (that’s his Aries side) that I’ve had since he was 4 months old and I was in my early twenties. From moving out on my own to traveling across the country to where I now live in LA, we grew up together in the weirdest of transitions.

Fast forward to October, Taylor’s once-in-a-while vomiting that we attributed to him just having a sensitive tummy turned excessive and was nonstop. I went back and forth to urgent care and his general doctor and was prescribed countless meds that only worked for a short period of time. I then found the wonderful professionals at ACCESS Culver City, and Taylor was diagnosed with IBD (his intestines aren’t working like they should). I was fully prepared to have to say goodbye due to his quality of life, but he made the biggest improvement overnight and shocked everyone, even his doctor! Things were looking up, and the financial investment, although substantial, wasn’t as much as it could be.

The next day, he had a major setback due to possibly removing some meds at once and ended up with pneumonia due to vomiting, choking, and likely inhaling some of his vomit. I was frustrated, devastated, and really trying to figure out if I was making the right decisions.

Taylor is now off oxygen and successfully moving off meds slowly. He’s such a strong boy and gave me what I needed to see to keep going. Sadly, the result of this financially is quite a heavy load, and I understand people have it a lot worse than me, but one of his doctors encouraged me to open this because you never know how generous people are until you ask, and if I’m judged for it, that’s okay.

Hoping this finds the right people that won’t ❤️

*The goal is not near the final bill this will be for his time in the hospital but even this is way out of my comfort zone. If you can’t give, that’s more than okay. If you can’t understand why I would spend this much money, that’s okay too. If you can only give a little, that is more than I could ever dream of… truly.