Support Riley's family during difficult times

Story

Hi, my name is Riley Lancour. I’m a graduating senior at Tantasqua High School, and I’m reaching out to my community during a difficult and troublesome time for my family. Despite facing one challenge after another, we’ve done everything in our power to stay afloat and make ends meet money-wise, yet we have come to a point where that has become more challenging than ever. My sister Madeline lost her vision over 2 years ago after staying at Boston Children's Hospital for weeks. The doctors finally discovered she had Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis, which had been causing her severe stomach pain every single time she ate. 2 weeks ago, she returned to Boston Children's Hospital with these same severe symptoms. It came to the point where Madeline was afraid to eat because of the horrific pain she would be in. She was losing weight and fast, so she went back to the hospital. After another few weeks of more and more doctors being puzzled by her condition, millions of tests being taken, and spirits being dropped, a different set of meds was given to help her with her condition, which eased the pain, letting her and my mom be able to come home after 2 weeks. Yet, more bloodwork needs to be taken, and hundreds more doctor visits are to come. None of these medications or visits are cheap, causing us to be swamped in medical bills. All of these visits are in Boston, causing us to have to drive there and back over 4 times a week, leading to gas being another concern. Social Security has also been a struggle. With Madeline's inability to work because of her blindness, she should be receiving money from Social Security, yet they are giving us nothing, no matter how many phone calls or emails we have sent. On the other hand, we have DTA, which is also an aid to give us money in food stamps. But with Madeline being in the hospital, we were unable to make a meeting to discuss the food stamps. Even after we told them we were unable to make it, they are now denying us this money. Food to feed a family of three, two of whom cannot have dairy, gluten, or eggs, along with 3 pets, can be very pricy, as many may know. My mother is balancing this all on her own. October of last year, her husband, and our main source of income, died in an unexpected car accident. With that came a load of unforeseen circumstances. We are now going through the struggle of selling our house since it is too expensive to keep. The longer we stay in the house, the more our money goes towards the mortgage, yet the selling process has been anything but easy. My mother, since last June, has had a torn rotator cuff. She had an initial surgery and has followed all the recovery procedures, including physical therapy and more doctor's visits. Recently, the doctors have located an even larger tear, leading her to have to undergo another surgery and recovery stage. This recovery means she is unable to move her dominant arm, causing her to lose the ability to type, write, drive, and work in general. We now have no real source of income, we don't know how to make it to the end of the month with all of these, and this has become our last resort. Everyone has already been so incredibly kind and giving towards our family. People have given me places to sleep while my mom and sister were in the hospital. We have been given food and money as well. We couldn't be more grateful for every single thing we've been given during this difficult time. My mother, who has been balancing this on her shoulders, all alone, has been so incredibly strong through all of this. Anything helps, and if you are unable to donate, it would mean the world to me and my family if you could share this GoFundMe to assist us. My family means the world to me. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support.