In January 2025, my partner, Meaghan, and I discovered that her sister, Caetlyn, was living in a severely abusive and neglectful situation. Meaghan immediately traveled to Pennsylvania to support her. It quickly became clear that the situation was much worse than we anticipated, so we made the decision to move Caet to Colorado so she could live with us. Neither of us knew what that would look like, but we knew it was the best way we could support her moving forward.

We could not have anticipated just how expensive this journey would be. Caet came to us without basic necessities and a lot of healthcare concerns. The process of getting her disability and other benefits took nearly six months, and it does not cover many of her needs such as a hearing aid and an overwhelming amount of dental work she needs to have done. We simply cannot afford to cover some of the expenses for Caet’s medical needs.

The best thing we can think to do is reach out to our community and ask for help in supporting and loving Caet. For those of you who do not know Caet, she was born with brain damage, which has left her with lifelong disabilities. She is the kindest and most generous person I have ever met. She loves spending time with the horses at the barn and participating in the local adaptive activities offered through our recreation centers. Caet is incredibly friendly and will happily talk to a complete stranger about any number of topics, her favorite of which is all the animals that she now lives with and helps care for. She has come so far, and we never could have done it without the incredible amount of time and energy that our friends have put into supporting her and helping us navigate our new normal. We could never adequately express just how grateful we are to our chosen family.

We love Caet and want her to be the happiest and healthiest version of herself as possible. If you are willing to help us in supporting Caet, we would be forever grateful. Thank you.