Hi, my name is Nicole, and I’m a devoted mother fighting to bring my daughter Isabelle back home where she has always belonged.

When I was still a minor myself, I voluntarily gave my parents guardianship of Isabelle because I wanted what was best for her at the time. But for the last eight years, I’ve been the one raising her full-time. I’ve provided her with a stable home, emotional support, structure, and unconditional love. I’ve worked incredibly hard to build a safe, healthy life — I’m sober (going on 10 years!), employed full-time, and I have full custody of my son.

But last summer, everything changed.

Without warning or my consent, my mother took Isabelle back because she convinced me to not revoke the guardianship. She has always been narcissistic, controlling, and abusive towards me. She cited personal attacks about my dating life and false claims about my parenting. Since then, for a year, I've been struggling to get her back, & money has been the biggest barrier for me. I’ve been in an uphill legal battle to terminate the outdated guardianship and restore custody. I’ve done everything right — enrolled in reunification therapy, participated in an intensive outpatient program to ensure emotional wellness, and followed every legal and therapeutic recommendation. Still, the court process is slow, expensive, and emotionally draining.

I’m asking for help because I simply cannot afford to continue this fight alone. Legal fees are piling up, and my attorney requires additional payments just to keep moving things forward. Every delay means more time that Isabelle and I are kept apart — and that pain is affecting both of us deeply.

If you’ve ever loved someone so much it hurt, you know what I’m feeling. I just want to be her mom again. I want to tuck her in at night, help her with homework, hear about her day — all the things I used to do before this was taken away.