Hello! I’m Brandi and I’m raising money for my mother, Missy Martin. This previously healthy and active woman narrowly escaped with her life late last year after a colonoscopy from hell.

In one afternoon, Missy went from being a daredevil world-traveler, artist, and master practical joker to “the sickest person in the hospital,” according to all of her doctors. She spent a total of 40 days in the ICU. She was continuously resuscitated, and placed on a ventilator four separate times. That stubborn lady somehow clawed her way out of the darkest prognosis. After two months of fighting to live, she then spent the next few months in intense rehabilitation, relearning how to do the simplest things— how to stand, write, talk, eat. The same woman that not too long ago went paragliding off of an Alaskan mountain found herself struggling to take a single step. She lost a shocking amount of weight, the majority of her hair, and six months of income. As you can imagine, she now struggles with PTSD from the whole experience.

What is more, Missy has ANOTHER major abdominal surgery coming up to try and make her whole again.

When she should be focusing on getting physically and mentally stronger, she is, instead, overwhelmed and shackled by medical debt…as always seems to be the case in our country. You have to be rich to almost die, right?

I realize this is an incredibly difficult time for everyone. COVID has taken almost a million lives. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel immense gratitude that my mom survived, and that I didn’t lose both of my parents before my 30th birthday. My family is so, so lucky. At the same time, we are struggling. And, no one deserves to have years of hard work and  savings ripped out from under them because of a medical emergency. If you can give, I ask that you please do. Anything helps to combat these criminally high medical bills. $1, $5, I promise it all adds up.

And I ask of those who are NOT in a position to give, PLEASE share this with anyone you can.

With your help, we’ll soon be able to hear my mom giggling in her art room and singing “damn, it feels good to be a gangster.”

Hold your loved ones extra tight and please, PLEASE share our story.

We send our love and gratitude to you and yours.