One of mine and Brandy Eurich's good friends from the Special Needs Community is in need of our help. Ruth and Kenny Duhart have been through many unforeseen circumstances in the past few months. Their daughter Ari was in the PICU at the Children's Hospital for 13 days with the RSV and pneumonia. As many of the parents of kids with special needs, their main income comes from Ruth being a CNA for Ari. Kenny is able to get paid to do homemaking and community connector for Ari through the Medicaid waiver. When kids are in the hospital, parent CNAs and parents who do homemaking and community connector are not able to get paid. This causes a financial strain on a family. Kenny works outside, and work has been scarce due to the weather we have been experiencing this winter. Ruth is unable to work outside of the home due to not having a nurse for Ari. She has also looked for work online and has not been able to find a job that is flexible enough for her schedule that revolves around Ari's multiple doctors' appointments, her daily care, and therapies.

Ruth's mom passed away two days before Ari went into the hospital. Her mom's house in Florida was being rented out, and the renters left the house in disarray when they moved out. They left many of their belongings in the house. In the midst of all of this, Kenny's dad has cancer. They need to find a way to get to Florida to go to Ruth's mom's memorial service, go to see Kenny's mom and dad, and to get the house ready to be able to sell. They need funds for gas, hotels, and food to be able to get to Florida to attend Ruth's mom's memorial service, to go see and help Kenny's mom and dad, and to get the house ready to sell.

Ruth and Kenny are typically very private people who won't ever ask for help, so we would like to ask for them. Malaki was in the hospital during four of the days that Ari was there, and Ruth helped me through it even though she was going through so much more than I was... this is the least I can do for her. Brandy has a special relationship with Ruth's family and introduced me to them... knowing we needed each other to navigate the world of being parents of the most amazing angels on earth. If you are able to donate, we would appreciate it. We all need a "hand up" during tough times.

Organized by Brooke Grant and Brandy Eurich