For those that don't know me, my name is Kara. I am a single mother to an amazing 15-year-old young man, Kendric. He has dreams of being a lawyer and works very hard in school where he is in several honors classes. Kendric was also accepted into a scholar program that will help him with career and education goals, financial literacy, scholarship, and many other opportunities. He also participates in mock trials at school which will give him a start in the legal career field. Kendric has also taken up biking on trails with my brother-in-law and a composite team in our district. It brings him great joy and I am ecstatic that he is finally finding his place after several rough years in middle school.

A year ago, Kendric experienced his first seizure. Within 8 months, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Since then, he has had several more seizures. He has been to the ER twice taken by ambulance, had two MRI's, one EEG, countless doctor visits with various doctors at various facilities, and soon he will have an EMU. An EMU is a 24-to-72-hour study so we can see if there is something else that is causing this. We are hopeful to get answers from this and work to best manage his epilepsy.

Throughout all of this we have experienced an outpouring of love from family and friends alike. But at times it is a real struggle for both of us. Kendric feels discouraged, alone, and often wonders why this happened to him and if it’s his fault. He is bummed he won’t be able to get his license, a rite of passage, when he turns 16 in July. This has also been hard for me as well. I will never unsee what it is like to watch my child have a seizure. You never know how you will handle those situations until you're in it and it is very scary to say the least. It's even scarier afterward when you are constantly on edge and anxious, any loud noise sends off alarm bells, and you stay on high alert. But we will get through this together as we always do.

My purpose of this go fund me is to help cover the medical bills. From ER bills to ER doctors, radiology to neurologist appts, epileptologist appts to medication, CHI to Children's Hospital to Boys Town. I have applied for all assistance possible but only qualify for a fraction of the costs. I unfortunately can just not keep up with the bills. We solely rely on my income, and I just can’t afford the payments. With the EMU coming up, I know the bills are only going to increase. Asking for help with this is incredibly difficult and has taken a great deal of swallowing my pride and humbling myself. But I know I can’t keep going this way. I am hoping to take a little of this weight off my shoulders and lower my stress a little tiny bit so I can focus all my energy on Kendric and his health. If you can find it in your heart to help even a little bit, we would greatly appreciate it and be eternally grateful. If you can’t, I completely understand. If you could just share this that would mean just as much.

Thank you kindly for giving me your time and reading a bit about our story.