To those of you who know me, know I have lived in CA for over 5 years. In May of 2021, I bought a plane ticket to visit home for a total of 6 days. During that stay, I realized how much care my mother required. Although the toughest, I made the only decision that made sense to me; to pack the life I had built in California and move home to be her full-time caretaker. In the past year, I have faced some of the most challenging experiences of my adult life. Also, some of the most beautiful, rewarding and soul-nourishing. Getting a second chance with my mother has felt like a true calling to purpose.

In this past year alone, my mother has been in and out of doctor appointments, emergency rooms and rehabilitation centers more than I could count on both hands. The fight within this woman is close to nothing I ever knew was humanly possible. However, hearing her say, "I can't afford the ambulance." Just last week, after she had fallen, it was very defeating. She recently came down with pneumonia. After being hospitalized for 5 days, she came home, and not even 24 hours later, she fell. She was admitted with a slight brain bleed and was closely monitored. In the same week, she was there for her second time; my father said he could not breathe and was also admitted to the Emergency Room.

Today they are both home, and although my father is on oxygen, we are doing what we can to keep them both comfortable. I originally had the goal set to $2,000 before posting. I wanted to receive their 1st bill. Shockingly, my mother's alone is $9,450. Still waiting on my dad's bills to arrive. Anything at all, even just sharing the link, would help us more than I could ever put into words on this page. I want to thank anybody who took the time out of their own busy schedules just to read this. Despite it all, I remain grateful.

To me, asking for help is never easy in any capacity.

However, there's very little I won't do to help my parents.