My sister, Heidi, has been a single mom for nearly ten years and she has done an amazing job of raising her children- Charly (14), Colton (12) and Leona (9). The four of them share a tight bond, a love of humor and many, many inside jokes.

On July 14th, Heidi got a call that no parent is prepared to get- that Leona, her baby, was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital after a terrible accident in which her leg was almost completely severed. Heidi raced to HCMC to be with Leona, feeling guilty the whole time that she wasn't with her during the most terrifying moment of her life.

At the hospital, they learned that though the leg would need immediate surgery and extensive repair in order to be saved, miraculously no bones had been broken.

During the long days in the hospital, Leona was casted from thigh to ankle and taught to walk using a walker with the hopes that she would regain at least some feeling in her leg.

Leona's journey did not end there. When weekly orthopedic care visits revealed that she was not improving as much as they'd hoped, specialty wound care and physical therapy were added to her weekly regimen.

At home, daily wound treatment and dressing changes have been needed to try and quash the infections and encourage new skin growth. The supplies and medication for this alone are staggeringly expensive and the process is quite time-consuming.

Throughout all of this, Leona put on a brave face but continual nightmares and discouraging news at many of her appointments caused her to suffer from bouts of depression. She just wants to run and swim and be a regular kid; instead, she feels hindered in everything she does and left out of all the things that used to make her happy. Weekly therapy visits have joined the fold.

During this time, it was discovered that, unbeknownst to Heidi, Leona was not covered by any health insurance. The amount owed for medical bills is approaching six figures and continues to climb.

With the large number of appointments, along with struggles to get Leona insured, Heidi missed a lot of work, much of is unpaid. Recently, this prompted a meeting at work where it was determined that the best course of action was for Heidi to take a leave of absence until things are under control.

Heidi has depleted her savings and maxed out credit cards trying to stay afloat with the medical bills. With her now losing out on desperately-needed income, the situation has become dire. It has reached such a low point that she agreed to accept help, though it hurts her to do so.