On Saturday November 22nd, my mother Jennifer collapased unexpectedly and was life-flighted to Boston Medical Center. They later confirmed a brain aneurysm led to a stroke, which left her with a catastrophic brain bleed and brain injury. She remained on a ventilator on life support in the SICU at BMC for over a week. The night after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28th, we received a call that they found a blood clot in her leg that they would not be able to operate on without too high of a risk, due to the amount of blood her brain was already over producing.

On Sunday November 30th, we had to make one of the hardest decisions of our lives, to remove my mom off of life support and let her finally rest at peace. With my Aunt Wendy and I by her side through it all, I know she would want nothing more and felt every bit of love around her during her final moments. She peacefully took her own breaths for almost three hours after being removed from the ventilator, which was bittersweet to have those last few hours by her side. Watching her be at ease while giving it her all one last time, she was a warrior through it all.

Jen was an absolute firecracker of a personality. Always had a bubbly, uplifting energy to her, that could make just about anyone laugh or smile, especially when they needed it. Even if she was going through the hardest or darkest times in her own life, you would never know because she was still going to show up for others and be the light for everyone else, even if it was what she needed the most too. The type of person to take the clothing off of her back to give to someone in need, to make you space in her own home and give you a roof over your head, to simply just being the person you can go to when you want to feel heard, loved or just wanted a good laugh.. To lend a helping hand in any way that she could, Jen was the first to give it without hesitation, even if it ended up backfiring at her in the end in some situations. Her heart was too good to see the bad in others, but to no fault of her own. She would forgive and forget if it gave her a sense of self meaning to give back in any way, shape or form. A big believer of Good Karma, as she'd put it. She was a giver and always gave it her all, and that's something I will forever admire about her.

The most valuable things in life to her were her children; her son, Wyatt, and myself, Ivy. Although she had some difficulties in life, she never stopped fighting to show us how much we meant to her and how much she loved us. And for that I am thankful to have such a selfless mother who gave us her best qualities, who never stopped trying to fight to be a part of our lives. Who taught me how to be the woman and mother I am today, in many different ways. The first one being my brother Wyatt. With Wyatt and I being 15.5 years apart, me being a teenager in high school with a toddler sibling at home.. I can say I got some good practice in from that itself, but mostly from the unconditional love and support my mom was always overflowing with for us. She was an amazing person that wasn't always handed the right cards, but she made the best of every situation and always remained positive. I firmly believe that she would want us to be doing the same during this difficult time after her passing. And that in itself gives me a little bit of relief in this grieving process. I know that she is finally at rest and no longer suffering after this traumatic incident and life that wasn't too fair to her. Her memory will leave a huge hole in the hearts of the ones that had the opportunity to be loved by her, whole heartedly.

We are asking for help to bring my mom back home to NH from Boston, to give her a memorial and lay her to rest.. I know it's a tough time of year financially with the Holidays for a lot of families, but If you are able to donate or share this, it would help more than I can put into words. I would love to be able to give back to Jen one last time, by celebrating her life with the people who she held close to her heart and sharing memories that will stay with us forever.