I never imagined I would be here, asking strangers for help just to survive the loss of my children and keep my family afloat.
My daughter Brook passed away first. Brook was diagnosed at birth with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects neurological development, communication, and overall health. From the moment she entered this world, she fought quietly and bravely. Losing her changed our family forever. It was a grief we were still learning how to carry when life asked the unimaginable of us again.
My daughter Morgan, who everyone lovingly called Pie, was also diagnosed at birth with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Like her sister, she faced complex medical needs and required constant, around-the-clock care. For 17 years, every part of my life revolved around keeping her safe, stable, and comfortable. As her mom, I knew every sound she made, every sign of discomfort, every tiny victory. She was joy, strength, and light wrapped into one beautiful soul.
In November, Pie became critically ill, a medical crisis if you will. What followed was 28 days of fighting for her life. Twenty-eight days of hospitals, medical teams, procedures, setbacks, hope, fear, and prayer. We never stopped believing she would come home. She fought harder than anyone I’ve ever known.
On December 3rd, our world stopped. Pie passed away.
In a matter of time that still doesn’t feel real, I became a mother who has buried two children.
The silence she left behind is unbearable.
My surviving daughter, Myah, has now lost both of her sisters. She lost her protectors, her constants, and the people who made her world feel safe. I am trying to hold myself together while helping her navigate grief no child should ever have to carry.
To honor Pie and keep our family together, we made the decision to bring her from Florida to New York for funeral services, where she will be laid to rest with her sister. Because this required out-of-state transport and coordination between states, the cost was more than double that of a typical funeral. We used every penny we had to make these services happen. There was no alternative. We would have done anything to lay our girls to rest together.
While trying to grieve, I’m also facing the reality of everything Pie required. I’ve been out of work for months due to her hospitalization, her passing, and caring for Myah during this transition. Bills did not stop. Medical expenses, travel costs, funeral arrangements, therapy needs, and ongoing care for Myah have piled up faster than I can keep up with.
I am a nurse. I’ve spent my life caring for others. But nothing prepares you for being a mother who has to bury two children after a lifetime of caregiving and still figure out how to keep the lights on.
Right now, we are behind on essential bills. We are struggling to cover all medical and support services we had in place for Pie, all the medical bills we have from her last stay, and ongoing treatment and therapy services for Myah. We are trying to stay in our home. We are trying to breathe through grief that feels suffocating.
This fundraiser is not about extras. It is about survival. You think you’d never be in the position not once and certainly not twice.
It is about giving us the ability to grieve without losing everything else. It is about keeping stability for Myah while we learn how to live without Brook and Pie. It is about helping a broken family stand back up after losses no family should endure.
If you feel led to donate, share, or keep us in your prayers, please know it means more than I can put into words. Every act of kindness reminds us that even in the darkest moments, we are not completely alone.
Brook and Pie were fighters from the moment they were born. They were love. They were strength. They were light. And they deserve to be remembered by the way people come together in their names.
Thank you for reading our story. Thank you for caring. Thank you for helping us survive this.