As some of you may know, and many others do not, my mother, Juanita was recently hospitalized and in ICU for 11 days after a major complication from a routine surgery. On Thursday, January 29th 2026 my mother had an operation for a hernia and was soon released from the hospital that same afternoon. By 1am on Friday, January 30th, she was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and received a second surgery to remove 12 ounces of blood that had surrounded her heart. This was followed by 4 days of intubation in ICU and we weren’t sure she was going to make it. She pulled through and is now back home following a total of 11 days in ICU. There will be constant therapy and appointments for the foreseeable future and although she is home, her journey back to normalcy is far from complete.

My mommy, Dina, has been by Juanita’s side for the last 19 years and together they have raised my three brothers and I together as a large blended family. She was diagnosed with a chronic illness many years ago, leaving her unable to work and on disability after maintaining 2-3 jobs our entire childhood. We were NEVER without growing up and my mothers are not the kind to ask for help. They have climbed the tallest mountains and swam the deepest rivers to make sure we had what we needed, and that is why I am here now…

We aren’t sure when/if my mama, Juanita will be able to return to work. She is a nurse, and a damn good one. Nursing is her passion- outside of her children. The process to be put on disability is long and grueling and although we are working on it, the need is absolutely immediate.

My two children and I stay with my mothers, in my childhood home. I was in charge of keeping everything together for the almost 2 week hospitalization. While at the hospital, our air conditioning unit for upstairs broke. And there was hot air pumping continuously through the vents. We did what we could to repair it (as we do not have the funds outright to replace it currently) and our electric bill is now $700+ when it normally runs around $350 for our home. We also urgently need to get siding on the back of our home, and after getting an original quote at $800, we were told the contractor wouldn’t be able to get out here in the time we needed before the home insurance inspector came back. We began sourcing new quotes and the cheapest we have found is now at $2000. After experiencing a devastating flood in 2016 that almost wiped out our entire home- we understand that insurance is a must in our area in case of that happening again. These are just two unexpected financial obstacles we have come across, and is far from everything. Things like paying the mortgage, having groceries in the house, and keeping the lights on should not be considered a luxury, but in this day and in this economy, almost everyone is just one bit of bad luck away from losing everything at no fault of their own, and this entire experience was much more than just a “bit of bad luck.”

I am asking for help on behalf of my mothers. The two women who taught me how to be a great mother myself, who taught me to be strong when I feel weak, and above all- that family sticks together. Whether it is $1, $5, or $100 every donation helps and every dollar counts. My mothers deserve to have a sense of normalcy while my mama works on healing. Thank you for reading if you made it this far. From the bottom of my heart, “please.”