Please help me help my Supermom - Brenda Coulter

I am starting a gofundme campaign for my mom, Brenda Coulter. Unfortunately, mom got sick last year in June and had to go to the hospital. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics. After two weeks, the antibiotics hadn’t cleared up her breathing problems so her doctor extended the medication for a week. Well, she started to get worse and returned to the hospital. Luckily, she did. What they found was life-changing for our family. They found she had Stage 4/End Stage Cirrhosis. The breathing problems she was having came from what is called “ascites” which is when fluid builds up in your body and if you can’t get rid of it naturally they have to drain it out. The fluid build-up is basically toxic and can cause all sorts of issues. Anyway, mom spent 2 weeks in the hospital and underwent many tests, and had both her stomach drained of nearly 20 L of fluid and 4 L of fluid from her lung leaving about 40 lbs of fluid behind. She spent a total of six weeks in the hospital from June to Oct with different issues and testing. The only good thing to come out of any of this was she quit smoking. She doesn’t drink anymore either.

Mom's diagnosis has definitely changed our lives. Now 49, she is on a very restricted diet and fluid restrictions to try and keep fluid from building up. She sleeps a lot and sometimes won’t get out of bed for a day or two at a time. She tries very hard to keep up with everything but forgets a lot and doesn’t always get the things she wants to do done. She gets distracted easily. My poppa and I try to help but sometimes she just gets angry and won’t let us help. You have to understand. My mom is used to doing everything herself unless she absolutely can’t. Asking for help or accepting it is hard for her. She is the one usually helping everybody else. Making sure they have the things they need or taking them to appointments. My mom doesn’t have a huge circle of friends or a lot of close family. But she is always trying to help someone out. In fact, our neighbour calls her Super B because she is Super selfless and never asks for anything in return.

Well, now my mom needs help. She needs a new liver and I am here to ask if there is anyone out there that would be willing to go through the process of being screened for compatibility. Her blood type is O+. I am not sure how it all works except I know it could be a long process. She has one person already that has offered to be tested but we are not sure that will work out. Anyway, if you would be interested in becoming a living donor I am sure she would be happy to hear from you to talk about it. I think it is all done in Toronto.

This leads me to my next reason for being here. Maybe if you are not interested in becoming a living donor you would be kind enough to make a donation to my campaign. Mom has been restricted from working because of the effects of this horrible disease. She has been fighting with disability since October 2019 (date of her initial application for other medical conditions – COPD, Sleep Apnea, Fibromyalgia, Depression) to be able to receive this benefit until she can hopefully go back to work after her transplant. Any money received would be used to help with bills, to help anyone who comes forward to be tested, and to possibly build a small bathroom on the main level of our house because sometimes mom is too weak to get up the stairs. I am hoping that by starting this campaign I will hopefully find a donor or raise enough money to ease some of her stress so she can focus on her health. I am 16 and would like to be able to have a lot more time with my mom. If you can’t donate I understand but please keep my mom in your prayers and share this with others.

 

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my mom’s story. She is a great mom!


P.S. My mom will be the one receiving the funds directly since I am underage still.