Help My Hero Hear Again

Help My Mom Hear Again – A Lifetime of Giving, Now She Needs Us

Hi, my name is Sunshine, and I’m raising money for someone who has spent her entire life giving: my mom.

My mom is a massage therapist and one of the most selfless, hardworking, and quietly heroic people you’ll ever meet. She’s been working full-time since she was 16, survived more heartache than most people can imagine, and yet still shows up for everyone around her with compassion, strength, and open arms.

She was raised in foster care after her mother was murdered when she was just 18 months old. Her foster home was abusive in every way. At 18, she was kicked out on her birthday and became homeless. But even then, she didn’t give up.

At 25, she became a single mom, raising me on her own, working full-time, and putting herself through massage therapy school. By 31, she married and had another daughter, only to later survive 20 years of domestic violence and neglect. Her husband left her for heroin and another woman, leaving behind debt and broken promises, but she still pulled herself out.

Today, she works as a massage therapist, helps support my medically complex son, and donates to local DV shelters, homeless programs, and underfunded schools. Every month, she delivers care baskets, snacks, diapers, and wipes, not because she has a lot, but because she knows what it means to go without. She remembers every person who helped her through the darkest chapters of her life. She wants to be that person for someone else.

But now... she can’t hear.

My mom’s hearing loss has isolated her. She struggles to work, can’t enjoy going out, and often feels embarrassed asking people to repeat themselves two or three times. As she told me recently:

“I’ve pretty much stopped going out. Even the grocery store is too much. I don’t know what people are saying, and they get frustrated. I feel bad. At work, I try to keep things calm, but I miss things people say. They have to repeat themselves, and then they’re not relaxed. I can’t go out to eat, can’t go for drinks with friends, and I haven’t dated in months. What’s the point when I can’t hear? So I just stay home. Where it’s quiet.”

She needs hearing aids. But they cost $8,000, and her private insurance (which she pays for herself as a 1099 worker) won’t cover a single dollar of it. She's convinced herself she doesn’t deserve them because she can’t afford them.

So I’m asking you, let’s show her she does deserve it. That she's not alone. That people still care.

This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. It’s just a snowflake. My mom has fought through a lifetime of pain, and she’s still fighting. Still giving. Still showing up for others.

Now it’s our turn to show up for her.

If you can give, thank you. If you can share, thank you. Sharing is often overlooked, but it's one of the most impactful ways everyone can help. It's free and takes almost no time. The more that we can spread this story, the faster we can pull my hero out of isolation. Every single bit helps.

Let’s give my mom the gift of sound. She’s earned it a thousand times over.