Our dear friend Sarah Ford is facing an unimaginable health battle, and we are asking our community to come together and surround her and her family with the same love, strength, and support that Sarah has given to so many others over the years.

Sarah is a single mom of two, a longtime Verona resident, a friend, a daughter, and someone who has always lived life with incredible energy and independence. Right now, that independence has been taken from her almost overnight.

For the past several months, Sarah has been experiencing a progression of frightening and unexplained symptoms - beginning with changes in her eyes, migraines and neck pain, and eventually progressing to difficulty speaking, muscle weakness, fine motor issues and significant loss of mobility and independence.

After countless doctors appointments, tests and unanswered questions, Sarah's condition recently deteriorated dramatically. Further neurological testing revealed nerve damage, and Sarah and her family have been navigating an incredibly frightening period of uncertainty while doctors work toward a definitive diagnosis.

Thankfully, recent bloodwork has provided a reason for hope. Her results point toward a possible autoimmune disease that may explain her symptoms, and after waiting for insurance approval, Sarah is scheduled to begin IVIG infusion treatments on August 17 in New York. Her initial treatment will consist of four consecutive days of infusions, approximately seven hours each day, with additional treatment and medical care to be determined based on how she responds.

We are hopeful. Sarah is hopeful. But this is only the beginning of what may be a very long road, and still so much uncertainty.

Sarah Needs Our Help

At this point, Sarah is unable to work or drive and needs assistance with many of the basic things most of us take for granted every day - including getting dressed and showering on her own.

As a single mother of two, the financial impact of suddenly being unable to work while simultaneously facing ongoing medical treatment is enormous.

There will be medical expenses, treatment costs, transportation back and forth to appointments in New York, household expenses, groceries, meals, help at home and, most importantly, the everyday costs of continuing to care for her children while Sarah focuses on getting stronger.

That is why we are asking our community to rally around Sarah.

Every donation - no matter the amount - will help give Sarah something incredibly important right now: the ability to focus on healing without carrying the additional fear of how she will financially support her family while she cannot work.

Funds raised will help with:

* Medical bills and expenses not covered by insurance

* IVIG treatments and ongoing medical care

* Transportation to and from treatment and appointments

* Household and everyday living expenses while Sarah is unable to work

* Groceries, meals and necessities for Sarah and her children

* Additional caregiving and support Sarah may need during treatment and recovery

Through all of this fear and uncertainty, Sarah recently shared something that captures exactly why we are doing this:

“I have a lot of life left to live and a lot of mom-ing left to do.”

She does. And right now, we want Sarah to know that she does not have to walk this road alone. Sarah has spent months searching for answers while trying to remain positive for her children and the people around her. Her world has changed dramatically in an incredibly short period of time, yet she continues to hold onto hope as she begins treatment. Now it's our turn to hold some of the weight for her.

If you know Sarah, you know how much heart she has. And if you don't know her personally, we hope you'll consider helping a mom who is fighting desperately to regain her health, her independence and the ability to simply be present for her children in all the ways she always has been.

Please donate if you are able, share this fundraiser, and keep Sarah and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she begins this next chapter of treatment.

No contribution is too small. Every donation, every share, every prayer and every act of kindness matters. Let's show Sarah just how powerful a community can be when we come together for one of our own.

We love you, Sarah. You have an entire community behind you. ❤️