I’m creating this GoFundMe for my cousins , Mandi and Kayla, and Mandi’s family, who have faced an overwhelming amount of emotional hardship over the past year and a half. Nothing can prepare you for the heartbreak of learning that a parent has a terminal diagnosis.

In October 2024, my Aunt Donna received devastating news about her health, news that would change everything for their family. She was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and given an estimated 18 to 24 months to live, with her daughters, Mandi and Kayla, right beside her as she heard those words no family is ever prepared to hear.

Since then, Mandi and Kayla have been navigating their mother’s terminal diagnosis while also handling the endless calls, appointments, and insurance issues that come with it, all while Mandi manages life as a full-time stay-at-home mom. She’s been doing this through pregnancy, and now with a 3-month-old baby and a 4-year-old, plus her other children like Brody who needs rides to school and football, and everything else that comes with raising a family.

No one prepares you for the shock of hearing that a parent is terminally ill, and no one should have to carry that burden alone. Mandi, Kayla, and Jon have been doing everything they can to stay strong, but the emotional and financial strain has been overwhelming.

As the family adjusted to a new reality, every effort was made to ensure Donna was as comfortable as possible under these changed circumstances. After beginning radiation and chemotherapy, things took a heartbreaking turn in July, when Donna went in for a routine post-cancer screening and learned that the cancer had metastasized to her brain. She was immediately sent to the hospital. Once again, with Mandi and Kayla by her side, the prognosis was revised, this time reduced to an estimated three to twelve months.

As if the situation could not have grown more heartbreaking, shortly after her most recent diagnosis, Donna was forced to leave the home she was living in. Her own brother, to whom she was paying rent, terminated her lease and threatened eviction, leaving her with no choice but to find another place to live during the final months of her life. At the same time, Mandi was nearly eight months pregnant.

Mandi, her husband Jon, Kayla, and Donna had to make difficult decisions quickly. Despite already having a full household — three children living at home, one child serving in the Air Force in Hawaii, and a new baby due any day — Mandi and Jon opened their home to Donna. They prepared a room for her, transforming what had been their son’s bedroom into a comfortable space where she could be cared for and surrounded by family.

Mandi and Jon have been working tirelessly for months, often at their own expense. In October, the newest addition to their family, Kirk, was welcomed into the world. Thankfully, Grandma Donna was still with them to witness the arrival of another grandchild.

Things were going as smoothly as one could hope under the circumstances, as the family continued adjusting to their new reality, until just a week ago, when everything took another devastating turn. Mandi let her mom know the night prior that she would need to be gone the next morning for a few hours to take her son, Brody, to take an exam at school. Like so many parents can relate to, that morning was rushed, focused on getting him out the door on time with a 4-year-old and 3-month-old in tow.

Believing her mom had just slept in, Mandi texted her mom that she was leaving and Jett was home if she needed him and hurried out the door.

When they came home later that day, Mandi realized Donna had not come downstairs. She texted her with no response. Mandi became concerned. While breastfeeding and with their 4-year-old daughter, Winona, downstairs, Mandi texted Brody to check on his grandma who was already upstairs and in the next room. He immediately did so. Tragically, Brody was the one to discover that Donna was unresponsive and struggling to breathe, a moment no grandchild should ever have to experience.

Mandi called 911 immediately, and later that evening the doctors determined that Donna had suffered a seizure and possibly a stroke. The diagnosis was confusing, as there were differing medical opinions, but it was believed that she had bitten her tongue during the seizure, which caused the bleeding. She is now recovering and slowly regaining her speech and movement.

Since then, Donna has remained in the hospital, as doctors will not discharge her until a clear care plan is in place. Two options were presented to her daughters, and the only truly viable option is for Donna to return to Mandi and Jon’s home to live out her final days comfortably surrounded by family rather than in a nursing home. However, this will require full-time care. When Mandi began researching in-home caregivers in the area, she was confronted with the overwhelming cost. Already navigating grief and constant change, the family realized that this level of care is simply not something they can afford on their own.

Even before this latest tragedy, Mandi, Jon, and Kayla were already struggling to figure out funeral arrangements, an overwhelming and costly burden no family should have to face. Donna is planned to be buried at Green Hills Cemetery, but the cost of the caskets there is astronomically expensive.

Ultimately, I decided to create this GoFundMe because I’ve watched Mandi carry the weight of things no daughter should ever have to handle. She’s been trying to figure out how to make her mom’s final days as comfortable as possible, and how to keep her from spending her last moments in a nursing home.

The hope is to bring Donna back home to Mandi and Jon, with a full-time caregiver in place and to provide Mandi, Kayla, and Jon with some relief knowing that funeral expenses are covered. Any amount that goes beyond the expenses will be donated to cancer research.