My mom, Jessica, is one of the strongest women I know. Amongst raising 3 kids, working 2-3 jobs at any given time, and being an amazing cat mom, she also struggles with significant health conditions.

In 2024, my mom was hospitalized for a seizure - her first since she was 18 years old. A few months after this hospitalization, she was still experiencing persistent symptoms and it was discovered she suffers from cerebral atrophy - a condition where the healthy cells and tissue in the brain die and cause functional and cognitive issues. Since this diagnosis in 2025, my mom has had a cascade of issues mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. She has been in and out of the hospital and each time it seems that a new health condition is added to her list of diagnoses, but there is little to no resolution or idea as to why this is happening or how much more it may progress.

Simply put - I am concerned for my mother. Nearly every system in her body is impacted at this point and we have no reasoning as to why; in addition to the atrophy, she has been diagnosed with degenerative discs in her spine, neuralgia, migraines, partial hearing loss, tachycardia, anemia, a hiatal hernia, and dysphagia. Due to this ever-growing list, she can no longer do the work she loves as a wedding planner, go do activities she enjoys like hiking and having girls days with me and my sisters, or simply perform daily activities - and when she does, it creates an immense physical toll.

My mom is not someone who enjoys asking for help, but she needs it. She is in the process of applying for federal disability and Medicare benefits, but it is a lengthy process. I am creating this GoFundMe for her in hopes of relieving some of the financial stress that her situation has caused her - I cannot help her condition but I can do this. Any bit helps, thank you.

-Valerie