Erik McKenny was a lively, fun, and happy child, and the light of the lives of his parents, Tim and Dianna.

Erik was diagnosed with leukemia at three years old, in August of 2012, and died in early September that same year, just one month shy of his fourth birthday.

Dianna and Tim have tried to persevere and live in a way that would honor their son's memory. They speak of him regularly, organized a book donation drive in his honor, and do all they can to keep his memory alive.

The McKennys were eventually blessed with a daughter, Lydia, who unfortunately never had the chance to meet her brother, but knows enough about him that she'll happily rattle off tales of Erik to anyone who will listen. She never met him, but she loves him just as much as if they'd grown up playing together every day.

And now, I'm organizing this fundraiser in Erik's honor, both because it's important to continue Tim and Dianna's work of keeping his memory alive, and also because their family is in dire need of aid.

Losing a child is more tragedy than any parent should experience, but the McKenny family had more hardships ahead of them. Tim fell into ill health and has required a great deal of time in hospitalization. He's had part of his foot amputated, and after his most recent round of surgeries and sepsis, which nearly took his life, he finds himself in need of mobility aids and accommodations. Heartbreakingly, mere weeks ago, Tim spent the anniversary of their son's passing within the very walls of the hospital where Erik took his final breath.

As if that weren't enough, through all of the stress, pain, and medical expenses, they lost their living arrangements and had to move into extended stay motels, where they're paying $2,000/mo for a room, but can't save up to find other accommodations in the Orlando area that would be more suitable in the long term. In addition to this, their vehicle stopped working entirely and they've had to rely on Uber (due to the abysmal public transit system), and while Dianna and Lydia were on the way to visit Tim in the hospital, their Uber crashed, causing Lydia to be taken to the emergency room for examination.

This is far more than any family should endure, and nobody deserves to continually suffer and be tested like this family has, so please join me in donating to help give them the chance to really get back on their feet.