Friends and family and those who come upon this GoFundMe via friends and family... thank you in advance for taking the time to read this very big, very special, crucial request. It is not like me to ask for help, ever, so if I ask, you know it's serious. As many of you know, I am a very proud mother to two incredible twin sons. They are 19, about to be 20 next March.

Luca was born with a double knot in his umbilical cord, which we did not know about while he was in utero, and gave his birth mom a run for her money trying to get out and tell us something was wrong. They were preemies and born 5 weeks early, and with that being said, a future of all the different kinds of therapies and support you could imagine would follow his birth. Add on epilepsy to his struggles. Fast forward to age 12/13, Luca was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and we got that under control for a good 6 years until Christmas of 2023. Luca had been thriving in high school. He graduated from a supportive special needs program and then went on to a college program designed to build up special needs kids' confidence and get them ready for the real world.

It was proving to be too much for him to handle; he just couldn't keep up with the things that we all take for granted, like getting on a bus or going out to the grocery store, etc. In December 2023, we started to witness a breakdown emotionally and physically. He had a series of visits to emergency rooms, none of which were equipped to diagnose or treat a young adult with a complex set of needs like Luca’s. In June 2024, it all went downhill. We pulled him from his college program so he could receive more one-on-one attention at home, but it didn’t help. He went through a series of medication changes, discovered new medication allergies, and has had 7 major hospitalizations in the past 10 months. Most recently, Luca has been hospitalized for 8 consecutive weeks while attempting to stabilize his medication. However, this hospital can only do the bare minimum for him and Luca has not made any progress. He has declined with his mental health, and we are having trouble finding a placement for him that takes on Autism/Spectrum, special needs, brain-damaged, mentally ill young adults.

The few places that do take on these kinds of very complex cases are mostly out-of-pocket private hospitals, and we are deadlocked with significant limitations for his needs. We HAVE to get a placement for him asap. We have a few hospitals in mind, but they require money upfront, and they start at $45-75,000. Insurance covers about 2%, which is very disheartening.

Friends and family, if we can work together and help raise some money for our dear sweet, talented, loving, beautiful Luca, we would forever be indebted to you. We believe that love moves through us all and your donation (big or small) will help him get the care he needs. We need our poet, rap-creating, hip-hop-loving, dancer and bundle of 6'2" ball of love and joy back!