Support mama & kids after car crash

Hi friends ♥️ A few weeks ago on our way to preschool drop-off, my daughter Zoe and I were in a car accident. (Prepare yourself for story time.) It was suuuper icy out and somebody trying to make it through their light in time slammed into us almost head-on while we were stopped at a red light. This totaled my car and made us vulnerable at a major intersection where we waited 3 hours for a tow truck (roads were insane), unable to move with the front left tire lodged into the engine compartment, spewing liquid everywhere.

Zoe and I are both okay, physically. We’ve got ongoing treatments for relatively minor injuries that are being covered by their insurance for now, but everything that’s taken place over the last few weeks has led me to the diagnosis of a chronic, ‘hidden’ illness - a connective tissue disorder called Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which explains sooo many weird things that I’ve experienced throughout my life! It has been a gift to have awareness of, and I have an incredible care team, but it also means having to see a cardiologist, a geneticist, a physical therapist, as well as 3 chiropractic visits a week (?!) with a doc that specializes in hEDS to help sort out injuries from the accident.

The domino effect of circumstances out of my control has landed me in a tough spot, making me miss more work than I’d prefer, and 3 very sweet people on separate occasions have asked if I’ve started a GoFundMe that they could contribute to... so here I am!

It feels uncomfortable, and I have to trust in the way things unfold. I had finally gotten myself into a good position, in my own place for the last year, with a great job that I love, almost feeling settled into this chapter. The aftermath of the crash has led me to the realization that I was barely scraping by, that I don’t have family to lean on, and that I apparently was only one accident away from the precariously balanced pieces of my life falling apart.

The insurance company took the rental car as soon as my car was deemed totaled, even though a damage settlement hadn’t even been offered at that point. And once I found an attorney that would take me on contingency, I learned that any decent settlement that I receive in the future could negatively impact not only my health insurance but my kids’ as well, which feels like an oxymoron somehow. They would also be taking a good chunk of it for reimbursement of healthcare-related expenses.

On top of all of that good stuff, my utilities have been nearly twice as much as I was advised to anticipate when I moved in (anybody else pay $350/mo for gas in February?!) and the neighbors (who have a newborn, so I feel for them) haven’t paid their half since December, so this mama is feelin' the stretchhh, especially with my boy's 8th birthday today.

In the midst of shit hitting the absolute fan, I have been humbled with appreciation for the community I’m surrounded by. The owner of the company I work for very generously offered me her car to use while she’s away, and I have been met with nothing but kindness and flexibility from them, and reiteration that I’m part of that work family and they look out for each other And after a post I made a few days ago in my local ‘buy nothing’ group about Koa’s birthday, I was flooded with decorations and Mandalorian-themed gifts, including a whole stack of really cool Dave Pilkey books and Pokémon things that another 8-year-old boy was so excited to gather and give to mine.

I have been so touched by the outpouring of kindness and I’m breaking out of my comfort zone to follow the nudges I’ve received to see what may come of putting a GoFundMe out there.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you!!!

I feel like I’ve lived 12 years already this year. Solid start to 2025