<div>There are people in our lives who quietly become the connective tissue — the ones who remember birthdays, follow your journey, check in when life gets hard, and celebrate you when life gets good.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara Behanna is that person.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She’s the friend who keeps in touch with everyone — not out of habit, but out of heart. She knows where you are in your life and actually cares. Someone once told her, “You connect people.” And it’s true. Sara has always wanted her friends to become friends. She builds community instinctively — introducing, including, remembering.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you’re lucky — like me, and like my child — you don’t just stay connected to Sara. You build memories with her. You vacation together. Your lives overlap in a way that only happens when someone shows up consistently, over time.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That’s why what happened next is still so hard to comprehend.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Last year, Sara became disabled — almost overnight.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The exact cause of her condition is still being determined. She is working closely with a neurologist for answers, but what we now know is both serious and life-altering. A nerve conduction study last week proved what we had all suspected was true — Sara has significant nerve damage affecting her peripheral nerves — the nerves responsible for sensation and movement in her arms, hands, legs, feet, and even her face.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She experiences profound sensory loss and lives with constant neuropathic pain.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara has also been diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumor called an acoustic neuroma, located on the nerve near her left ear, which has already caused significant hearing loss. Her medical team is still determining whether this tumor is connected to her broader neurological symptoms.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The specialist she has been seeing at Georgetown does not accept her new insurance, which means she must self-pay for her upcoming appointment next week — the appointment where it is expected she will finally receive a diagnosis and treatment plan.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And in the middle of all of this, life hasn’t paused.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>What This Means for Sara’s Daily Life
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara can no longer walk or stand without a walker.
</div>
<div>She has limited use of her hands and struggles with fine motor skills.
</div>
<div>She cannot drive.
</div>
<div>She lives with chronic, often severe pain.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thankfully, her mother has stepped in as her primary caregiver — but even with that support, daily life is incredibly difficult.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara has applied for Social Security Disability, but that process can take a year or more before a decision is made. Until then, she has no income.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And there’s one more reason this matters so deeply.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara is a mother.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Her son, Marino, is finishing the final months of his senior year of high school and preparing for graduation and college. In the middle of medical uncertainty, loss of independence, and chronic pain, Sara is still trying to be present for him — still trying to provide stability during a moment that should be full of hope and possibility.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She still carries financial responsibilities for him — his school needs, lunch account, graduation expenses, and everyday incidentals — because even when everything changes physically, you don’t stop being a mom.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This month will be the first month she does not have to pay rent, but she still faces:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>• Remaining utilities
</div>
<div>• Monthly phone bill
</div>
<div>• Car insurance (shared with her mom)
</div>
<div>• Groceries
</div>
<div>• Ongoing medical costs
</div>
<div>• Self-pay specialist visits
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We have set a goal of $20,000 to help cover medical expenses, essential living costs, and provide stability during this long and uncertain wait for disability approval.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This GoFundMe exists to give Sara something she desperately needs right now: relief.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Space to focus on healing.
</div>
<div>Space to get answers.
</div>
<div>Space to breathe.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sara has spent her life keeping people connected — checking in, showing up, remembering what matters.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now it’s our turn to show up for her.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With love,
</div>
<div>Rachelle
</div>

Anonymous

Colleen Kiernan

leah forsythe

Sandy Holt

Antonella Hoosier

Allyson Burroughs

Mike Williams

Sue Tindall

Dee Franz

Jason Priecko

Tori Tyree

Anna Van Etten

Heather Hildwein

Sindy McKinnies

Joseph Adler

Liz Talamayan

D Wilson

Rachel Kip Johnson

Support Sara Behanna’s Medical Journey

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

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3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

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npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

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isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Support Sara Behanna’s Medical Journey

Still $15,865 to go. Help us build momentum.