As many of you know, I had a baby over 10 years ago. Three days before his 1st birthday, I suffered a nearly deadly stroke, which took me years to recover from. In the time I was recovering, his father moved us all to Ireland (because he had no idea how to handle taking care of me, his child, and teenage stepson). I had to move home without my baby 8 years ago, which was the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life! I, of course, had to leave teaching and was put on disability. But within a few years of moving home from Ireland, I felt that I had recovered enough to go back to work. I had, indeed, recovered physically, but my brain had apparently not. I have been hired for several clerical jobs but continue to get fired due to my inability to process information. I have since tried to recover my disability benefits but am continuously denied by the state because they say there is nothing wrong with me. Therefore, I have not been able to save up money to go visit my baby in Ireland. I am lucky enough to be able to speak to him every single morning on WhatsApp, but it's just not the same. I did get to go back to Ireland over 5 years ago for his 5th birthday, but it's so expensive. My therapist suggested that I start a GoFundMe because I am absolutely desperate and miss him so, so much. Otherwise, I would never, ever do something like this. I have to save up enough to pay for myself and my mom (because I won't go to a foreign country alone) to fly there for a week, stay in a hotel, and pay for food and dog and cat boarding. Ugh. It's a lot. Thanks in advance for reading this!