Laurie's Miracle and Mike's New Challenge

I am trying to raise money to help my mother and step-dad afford their new living situation with the many new challenges they are facing.

About 12 years ago, my mother, Laurie Phillips, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic bone cancer. She has fought incredibly hard for these last 12 years. On 1/9/25, she was admitted to the ICU at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin and diagnosed with congestive heart failure, pneumonia, an infection, and her kidneys were not functioning at all. The staff at ICU were absolutely amazing and did all they could for her. They gave her 3 rounds of dialysis, and her kidneys still would not function at all. Mom and her boyfriend of 10 years had been wanting to get married for years, so with things not looking so good, we pulled a lot of strings, and they were married in the ICU on 1/13/25. The next day, the doctors called us in for a meeting and informed us that mom’s kidneys were not working at all and it would be best to just take her home and call in hospice care.

Once we got home, Michael took 3 falls in the first week. After the 3rd fall, we made him go to the ER (which was difficult as he didn’t want to leave mom's side). 24 hours later, we got a call telling us that Michael was going to need his leg amputated from above the knee down. Michael has diabetes, which caused an infection in his leg to take over. He had his leg amputated the next morning successfully and is now in rehab. He is scheduled to be back home early next week.

Back at home, mom gave the idea of hospice some thought and decided that she was not ready to throw in the towel. She wanted a second opinion. We made an appointment with her oncologist (Dr. Paul in Berlin, who is absolutely amazing), and he was more than happy to see her. He instructed her to get bloodwork done and come in to see him. Last Friday, we went into his office, and he said if she wants to continue chemo, he would allow it. I inquired about if he felt that we should try some more dialysis again, and he said, “No. She no longer needs dialysis. Her kidneys are functioning fine now.” I was confused. I asked if it was because of them doing the dialysis at the hospital, and he said, “No. The dialysis at the hospital had no effect on her at all. I can’t explain it. It’s just a miracle.” I can’t tell you how many times we prayed for a miracle over the last month. Just to hear that was the best news! So mom is now switching to palliative care and continuing her treatments! She’s always been a fighter and is not giving up anytime soon!

So, after all of the ups and downs in such a short period of time, Laurie and Mike are in need of some home renovations to help them with daily life. They are going to need to make a lot of adjustments to be able to be sufficient. For starters, their bathroom needs to install a handicap accessible shower, wheelchair ramps, and lift chairs. So many things to make their lives a little easier. If you made it this far into their story and are able to contribute, we would appreciate anything, even if it’s just prayer during this transitional time in their lives.