A lot of you have been following my mom’s journey fighting cancer.

Unfortunately, my mom, Maria Carmen Barajas, passed away on September 7th, 2025. We are still in shock and heartbroken. As her full-time caregiver for months now, I feel like I’ve been grieving her for months already. She fought so hard, but her body couldn’t take it anymore.

I don’t have the money to cover everything that comes with funerals and memorials. She deserves a day as beautiful as she was.

She was a beautiful, strong, and loving woman, mother, and grandmother. She LOVED her kids and grandkids. She loved doing her makeup, styling her hair, and going on adventures. My mom showed her love through actions, and I don’t know anyone with a bigger heart. She was my best friend.

She helped everyone, and if she couldn’t, she found someone who could help you. She deserves to be honored with dignity and surrounded by love.

I’m asking for help with the costs so I can give her the peaceful goodbye she deserves. My mom deserved more than this. No one deserves to experience cancer or have a family member go through it.

My mom was so funny, outgoing, and she worked so hard. It’s because of the relationships she formed that we had a community to support us these months.

If I’m being honest, I feel like I let her down but it’s only because a journey with cancer, when it takes a turn like this, is such a painful experience. I want to say thank you to everyone who has been there for me and my family all these months. Every call, text, financial assistance, advice, or even just letting me vent helped me get up each day and help her fight.

If you’d like to help, anything helps, even just sharing this. Please keep us in your prayers. My mom believed in the power of prayer, and I do too. Thank you for showing up for us during the hardest time of my life.