Support Danine’s Journey to a New Heart

Dear Friends and Family,

Our mother, Danine Curtis, has shared too much love and heart with the world in her 52 years young that she’s now in need of one back. Last May, she was diagnosed with Heart Failure after suffering 3 heart attacks and irreversible heart damage. It’s been an extremely tough year but she’s not done fighting. Yesterday on April 8th, she had a surgery to have a mechanical pump help her heart function. She needs a heart transplant and this surgery helps her get there and moves her higher on the transplant list. She is in the ICU recovering and waiting for an available transplant.

While our mom has never asked for help, she really needs love and support. As a single mother raising 4 kids, she’s always prioritized others. She’s been an art teacher for over 23 years and dedicated her entire career to inspiring children to be their best creative selves and love unconditionally. Despite the financial hardships of raising and supporting 4 children under these circumstances, she always made sure we had food on the table, rides to every practice, endless love and support, and a roof over our heads. Words cannot describe the sacrifices she’s made for her children.

A story that sums up our mom is in 2019, our roof was failing and leaked in multiple areas. We could not afford to get this fixed and were trying to get by with “band-aid” fixes. After a huge storm collapsed part of the kitchen ceiling and had water flooding everywhere, she spent the whole summer buying leftover roof tiles, watching YouTube videos, and hand nailing the entire roof herself. Impressively, there haven’t been any leaking issues since then. The battles did not stop there; she’s turned to DIY to fix any problem that’s come up on a budget; from replacing kitchen cabinets, countertops, and floors to showers and plumbing.

Unfortunately, as we prepare for her heart transplant, these unfinished DIY projects need to be completed. She needs a thoroughly clean environment in order to reduce the chance of infection, which means the dust and debris needs to be removed. Our family is doing the best we can to prepare the house to keep her safe after her surgery, but it’s a big undertaking. We’d be forever grateful for anyone with trade skills or who has an extra hand that could donate time or knowledge as we embark on these modifications.

Any financial donations will not only help prepare the house to be as safe and comfortable as possible, but will also help our family on this next financial journey. Despite Mom’s best efforts to return to teaching (to which she even went back to work after her initial diagnosis until she physically could not anymore), we do not expect for her to be able to return to work anytime soon. There are going to be medical expenses and other finances to prepare for. Any financial support will put less stress on her children and family and allow them to focus more on her comfort and care.

Thank you so much for your generosity, prayers, and words of encouragement as our mom fights her hardest challenge yet. She’s definitely not alone and we can get through this together.

Much love,

Danine’s family