I sit here lost for words as the tears roll down my face but know this must be done for the sake of my sister Laurie. Laurie is my older sister who had a life changing phone call in December of 2024. It caught us very off guard and hit harder than a freight train. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately required a port to be placed for chemo (I will refer to chemo as treatment per Laurie’s request during her journey). Processing this news wasn’t easy for anyone and being the first person to hear the news made my world stop moving because how could this be true? Laurie and I haven’t been close over recent years and I really hated myself for not being a better sister, especially now. We were best friends for years – we had to even show our IDs to people back in the day to prove we were sisters because we were ALWAYS together. Many friends come and go over the years but as sisters we always find ways to make our bonds stronger, this just wasn’t what I was expecting. Laurie has been so strong through all of this and was even working to keep the bills paid, which no one agreed with, but that’s Laurie. She was able to have her treatments on the scheduled days and stayed on course even after needing additional medical attention due to her body reacting to the treatments. Her employer was able to secure her position, and the benefits were able to support her for a good part of her journey but as we know benefits come to an end. Her short-term benefits are no longer able to support her after August which is causing her anxiety and stress levels to increase and will hurt her healing process. She is off to an amazing start in her recovery but has HUGE decisions to make and with the right support she will have a clear mind and be able to finally focus on HERSELF and HER JOURNEY. She is so much stronger than she knows and while spending time with her for the surgery she showed me just how strong she is and also how much she loves snicker doodle cookies! She is such a fighter and deserves happiness and to understand what freedom really is – just breath…the sky will be a brighter blue, and you will see more butterflies. Any support that you can help with would be a huge blessing and help Laurie focus on her recovery. This will cover medical bills, household bills, groceries and even car maintenance to ensure she can get to upcoming doctors’ appointments. Anything is a blessing and would bring great relief to my sister. I thank everyone in advance for your contribution.