We are the parents of four children. Our second to youngest child is autistic. Our youngest child is transgender. I won't go into all the nitty gritty details with you all all of the events that led to him coming out to us, but when he did, we embraced him and did everything in our power to protect him, get him appropriate mental health treatment, and eventually, medical treatment at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. He was on hormone therapy for about a year when the law in our home state of Louisiana changed to criminalize the proper care of our child. Not only was this going to set him back emotionally and physically, but it also brought the issue to the forefront in social media and emboldened some people to come for families like ours with hateful words, threats, and judgement. We worried for his mental health and for his physical safety. We looked for other options. My oldest two children were already living in Colorado. We applied for jobs here, and when we got them, we knew it's what we had to do to provide more resources for our autistic son who was approaching adulthood, and also safety and a community for our trans son so that he could live his truest life free from judgement and fear.

We moved in August of 2023. We left behind everyone we loved and cared about and who cared about us in fear of those who hated our child. In early 2024, my husband Chad was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease secondary to an immune condition called Polymyositis. By October, he became unable to work due to his lung condition. We are lucky to be in the same city as one of the leading pulmonary hospitals in the world. But living on one salary in one of the highest cost of living regions in the country is very challenging, especially in light of all of the medical costs we did not anticipate. He's applied for Social Security Disability, but we are one of many families waiting for an answer about that. In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to keep it together. Our lease is up in October, and we are downsizing to an apartment. I've applied for many part time jobs to try to supplement our income, but nothing has worked out with my full-time work schedule so far. I did the door dash thing for a while, but I ended up losing money that way and it got a little dangerous (or at least felt that way) at times. I'm embarrassed about our circumstances but I've run out of options and I cannot rely on any more financial support from my family, my only resource at this point. I would rather be embarrassed than put an undue burden on them.

We will get through this, like we have so many things before this. I have to humble myself and admit that I can't do it without help. If you can, please do. If all you can do is send your love, I'll take that too.