URGENT Emergency Support Needed for Mikaela and family!

URGENT Emergency Support Needed for Mikaela and family!

Venmo option below!

I am writing on behalf of my dear friend Mikaela. We met over 11 years ago while pregnant with our boys. In the ensuing years, we have become family, raising our boys, and then our girls, sharing the joys and the suffering of life.

Many Vermonters know Mikaela as a powerful educator and advocate for our students. She serves as mentor, teacher, and a beloved community leader. In her decades of service, Mikaela has been instrumental in caring for and enriching the minds and hearts of our most important resource: our children. It is impossible not to notice the way that she approaches the work; her profound patience and skills as an educator, along with her infectious smile, have been transformative for my family and countless others.

Mikaela’s presence and work reverberate throughout Vermont, instrumental to our community by growing active, engaged students who will one day become leaders in their own right. Her work is woven into the very fabric of our lives. I cannot imagine our community, or our students, without her wisdom, commitment, and the steadfast dedication she brings. In a time with so much upheaval and uncertainty, Mikaela is a consistent presence that our families and students can rely upon to show up and bring her best day after day. Our entire state of Vermont and its students need her now more than ever.

This winter Mikaela's sister Ayanna returned from teaching English in Iraq to assist Mikaela with caring for their mother after surgery. After their mother's successful recovery, Ayanna went to Florida to look for work. Tragically, while travelling, Ayanna collapsed. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors found a brain tumor requiring emergency surgery. Ayanna underwent surgery to remove the tumor on April 11th, and was discharged a week later into the care of her mother. Far from home, they were forced to stay in a local Airbnb to rest and recover. Currently, Ayanna is unable to fly due to the dangers of altitude pressure and brain swelling. To make matters worse, the tumor is cancerous and has metastasized. Mikaela needs to bring her sister and mother back home to Vermont as soon as possible so that Ayanna can receive further treatment.

Mikaela and her family are navigating the shock of her sister's diagnosis, all while the ever present uncertainty of her position as an educator hangs in the air. This beloved member of our community, who we have relied upon for so many years, needs our support as she now finds herself the sole breadwinner and caretaker in her family.

As an educator, Mikaela is already on the front lines in current discourse. As healthcare and social safety nets draw ever tighter, we must come together to bridge the divide with mutual aid and community action. We are not alone, we are stronger together. I am asking our community, family, and friends, far and wide, to surround this family with love and support. Please join me in caring for this leader of our community who has spent her life supporting and uplifting the voices of our students.

The cost of the housing during recovery in Florida, getting Ayanna home without flying (due to brain swelling and not being safe due to pressure changes) by car or train, and paying the $40,000 medical bill in Florida is putting a tremendous strain on Mikaela and her family while they are working out a plan for treatment in Vermont.

Please help us get Ayanna and Brenda home from Florida, so Ayanna can get treatment ASAP and begin the healing process.

Mikaela has shown up for so many families in Vermont, now is our chance to show up for her and her family.

Please give via GoFundMe or directly to Mikaela through her Venmo: @MIKAELAVT (last four of her phone is 1126)