Hello, my name is Sara Ridgway. I am a mother of two wonderful kids: Tynslee and Mason. I want to start off by saying thank you for taking the time to click our link and read this post. It’s longer than I anticipated, but I just wanted to make sure when you are reading this that you understand how much this means to us and how much we appreciate and are grateful for your time and support. I apologize in advance if I repeated something more than once. I tried my best to not just ramble, but it’s hard to express all this in a post without getting too emotional. To be honest, I have gone back and forth about making this post and coming across desperate and embarrassed by asking for help with my own personal life and what we are going through. I have tried so hard to figure it out and make it day by day until we get help with assistance, etc., but I’m at a loss and we are in desperate need and I’m not sure how much I can do by the little faith I’m holding onto. I haven’t been able to make the majority of Mason's treatments because of money and not having reliable transportation (due to legal issues, that now has my car on a time limit of even having transportation at all), so we have been doing our best and it has done nothing but make it worse for him and him needing his treatments. I haven’t cried so much to God for trying to understand His plan and have faith as I have never felt so hopeless and alone. I have tried so hard to stay strong and stay in the right mental state of mind and wake up every day to be able to even function day to day so I can care for my kids. It’s probably been the hardest thing I have had to deal with and not lose faith. So here I am coming to anyone and everyone that will take the time to please read this without any judgment or looking at me any different than just me in desperate need of any help or support I can get for me and my kids and to help us get by until we can get more assistance with Mason's needs.

It all started 2 years ago when my son, Mason, fell ill. We spent countless days in and out of the hospital with multiple admissions and no answers. At first, it started out with his stomach and having colon issues, something that the doctors have still been unable to diagnose. He has had NG tubes in. He has been in and out of the hospital due to him vomiting his bowels and being unable to have a bowel movement on his own. We are still under testing to try and figure out what is going on. Recently, his health has taken a turn, and he was admitted for scarlet fever due to high fevers that were unable to be broken as we visited multiple different doctors for 2-3 months because he wasn’t getting any better and the rash was getting worse along with his symptoms. We finally came across the right doctor that took everything into consideration of what was happening and how he was declining with no progress whatsoever. Now he’s covered with this rash from head to toe and his skin is so sensitive and raw you can’t even touch him as he’s now weighing 37 lbs. They ended up doing a biopsy to figure out what the rash was, and the test results came back that he has PLEVA-FUMHD, which is a very uncommon skin disease. Currently, we are on Saint Jude’s list for a consult and for research as this is very unusual and unknown. There are three different levels of this form of skin disease and Mason was diagnosed with the most severe case, which can grow cancer cells. This form of disease has no cure, and they have little treatment to help. I am unable to even touch him without sending him into agonizing pain. Currently, the only option we have is to go to the hospital 3-4 times a week for UV light treatments which don’t cure, but they say that it will help with the scarring and itching. The other two options they suggest for helping are antibiotics and a steroid ointment which Mason’s body has rejected both. The symptoms that come with this disease are high fevers, body aches, joint pain, it can change their mental state, and then the obvious which is the rash. Due to his immune system being compromised, I am asked by the doctors to homeschool Mason in order to limit his exposure.

As a mother, I am at a loss on what to do. We are in and out of the hospital which renders me unable to maintain a job due to having to be with him at the hospital. I have lost multiple jobs and missed many opportunities due to not being able to be present with my job. As a single mother, this makes it hard to pay the bills and stay afloat in life. He has lost so much weight during this due to him refusing to eat or even drink any fluids. He doesn’t want to do anything that he would normally enjoy. I feel like I am watching my son slowly deteriorate and all the answers we are receiving are uncertainty as to what is going on, why it is happening, or what we can do to treat and prevent it from reoccurring. It has been hard trying to process what all is happening. I pray that no other family would ever have to endure this. I have been leaving it in God’s hands and praying He pulls us through this rough patch, but when all odds keep stacking against you it’s hard to remain in faith. It has been a struggle trying to get the answers and being told his condition isn’t as severe when it in fact is severe.

If you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read our story. The last thing I want to do is ask for a handout, but as a single mom that is unable to maintain a job due to his health issues, I am left with no other choice than to reach out to my community to help in any way possible. That being gas money to get back and forth to his treatments, money to help get a cheap car for us, being able to keep a roof over my children and my heads with the utilities needed for day to day. Anything is appreciated. But if all you can do is say a prayer for us, we are even grateful for that.