Hello, my name is Cynthia and I’m a 43-year-old domestic violence and breast cancer survivor.

My journey began over 20 years ago when I met the man I thought was my protector but turned out to be a narcissist alcoholic/drug addict.

I had our miracle baby at 35 after doctors kept telling me I couldn’t conceive after an ectopic pregnancy and fallopian tube removal, so we gave up trying, but the universe had other plans.

Everything seemed okay for a while besides his drinking, which I unfortunately became very used to until September of 2023 when my grandmother passed and I found him drunk and high at home while I attended the funeral. When I confronted him, he decided to physically and mentally abuse me by breaking items, punching holes in the wall, and throwing a safe at my head which thankfully landed on my shoulder instead, all while I was at work. The police didn’t do anything even with me calling them 4 times in less than 4 hours (thankfully my daughter was at school). So that day, I decided to pack EVERYTHING we own and go to a hotel where the next day I took out a PFA (protection from abuse) order, which the judge granted me for 18 months due to all the evidence.

Now, my ex is out of the destroyed house in November, but we’re at peace even though now all the bills and repairs are up to me. Fast forward to December, and I find out I have stage 1 breast cancer, smh.

Yeah, and what was supposed to be a 3-month chemo treatment turned into 8 due to complications with my liver almost giving out from the strong medications. So now I’m also out of work, only getting paid a percentage of what I’m used to and need to survive. All my savings are pretty much gone, and my credit cards are completely maxed out, not including school is about to start, and the ex refuses to work out of spite, so now I’m doing EVERYTHING by myself while trying to keep myself together for my baby.

I feel like I’m drowning, and even though I don’t like putting my business out there, I’m honestly lost, and my friends keep pushing me to give this a try, so here we are.

I’m not asking for a lot, just enough to catch up on bills and get back on our feet.

I appreciate and thank you for your time in reading my story.