On Friday, September 5th at 3:30 pm, I lost my mother to cancer. She was 70 years old and had been battling it for 3 years.

The past few months of her life, I ended up moving in with her to help with bills and such as her health declined. Once it started getting worse, I had to miss a lot of days of work. Then days turned into weeks. It became a struggle to balance between going to work whenever I could and taking care of my mother and 3-year-old son. With that, my income became low to a point where I had no check coming in.

Now bills are gonna be due (car insurance, light, water, rent) and even buying food is becoming an issue. I have no PTO or FMLA to cover my absence from work because I was unqualified due to short hours, which I didn't have because I was taking care of my mother. I am a hardworking son and father, but family came first in this situation. Therefore, it became a major setback financially and a struggle emotionally.

Anything would help till I can get back on my feet and begin to get my life back together.