I don't even know where to start or how to begin. I have been contemplating reaching out for help over the past month and a half but haven't had the courage to. I am not a person who is comfortable asking for help, which is unfortunately a trait I inherited from my mom. After much thought, I decided to let go of my fear because this is important to me. So here I am, being vulnerable and reaching out.

My mom, best friend, and grandmother to my daughter Jade, is facing severe health issues. In March of this year, my mom was hospitalized for 2 weeks due to suspected liver failure. Her bilirubin was at 17 (for a normal adult, bilirubin should be at 0.1-1.2); 20 is considered deadly. My mom is not a drinker and fully believes in holistic medicine, so this was something we couldn't understand or even fathom. Come to find out, she had a narrowing of her biliary duct causing blockage. This resulted in an emergency stent being put in, and where her journey started. She had the stent removed in June, and multiple complications started occurring with severe “attacks” happening more frequently as time passed. She was in and out of the ER, which was extremely scary and concerning, with a lot of sleepless nights with no answers.

Then, the week before Thanksgiving, my mom was admitted to UCLA where a lot of things started coming to light. They did multiple tests and biopsies and found abnormal tissue around her biliary duct and within her biliary tree. We are still waiting for results from this; however, in this time, they found and diagnosed her with uterine cancer. During this time, she also went through another emergency surgery to put a stent back in her duct, so she is now battling two different issues.

This brings me to today, the next steps, which is an emergency hysterectomy before the cancer spreads even more and then another surgery to check if the stent is holding up well. At that point, it will be decided if her body will be able to hold a permanent stent.

As you can imagine, this has created a huge financial strain and stress for my mom. If you know my mom, you know she is a fighter, but she doesn't know how to pause to take care of herself. She is pushing herself to work to pay off expenses, and it's literally preventing her from taking care of her health. She has taken a loan out against her home to pay the bills that are piling up with all the medical expenses. So this led me here, to ask for help.

I hate asking, as I know so many people are going through hard times, but if you can spare even $1, it will make a difference. Every little bit counts and makes an impact. The money will go to my mom to help pay for medical bills and the cost of care she desperately needs. I appreciate your time in reading this.