Help Make A Wish Come True

I'll never forget waking up in the middle of the night just two days after returning home from the hospital from the birth of our 2nd child (a precious baby girl). I was in the most excruciating pain...my head felt like it was literally going to explode; I knew something was horribly wrong but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. After being rushed to the ER & undergoing several tests, my husband and I were told that I had suffered a major Stroke, a severe Vertebral Artery Dissection, a Subarachnoid Hemorrhage & was diagnosed with Vasculitis of the brain (which can only be treated; never cured). We were told that had we waited even 5 more minutes to get to the hospital that night, I wouldn't have made there alive. WHOA. That was *a lot* to take in and I was so very scared...so scared. (And even more so because my dad had passed away from a Glioblastoma Multiforme Stage IV Brain Tumor at the age of 49, which the doctors originally diagnosed as a "small stroke" & sent him home from the hospital. All the while the tumor was growing rapidly because it went untreated for so many weeks). So needless to say I was *terrified* at what the doctors were saying had happened to me and my life was forever changed, along with the lives of my husband and children...NOTHING was ever the same. I was immediately admitted to the ICU and I remained in the ICU for 10 days. I missed out on the first TEN days of my newborn baby girl's life & my 4 year old son was so confused ("why you can't come home mommy?") & he was very scared ("are you going to die mommy?")...it was absolutely heart-wrenching for me & my husband. Over those 10 days I was constantly being poked & prodded for blood tests, had several CT scans, had more MRIs & MRAs than I can even remember, had 4 very scary and painful angiograms & saw more doctors and specialists than I care to remember. And in the end, not 1 of those doctors or specialists had any rhyme, reason or answer as to why this had happened to me...all they could do was "speculate" that all of this was most likely due to the birth of our daughter but could not prove it. (I had an extremely difficult labor with her and she actually spent her 1st day in this world in the NICU, instead of in my arms but thankfully she was, & still is, okay). Within months of all of this happening we were in financial ruin (& still are to this day) due to all the medical bills coming in and we eventually lost our home that we had built to foreclosure, our cars were repossessed, our credit is destroyed, I had to quit the only job I had ever known and so deeply loved (teaching dance to children), I was told by all of my many doctors that I'd never be able to have another child because I was now an extremely high-risk patient, we've had to pawn jewelry & other precious/sentimental items just to pay bills, we lost friendships, family members even turned away, our marriage has been tested. Our lives have been turned completely upside-down...it's total & utter havoc. Due to what happened, I have suffered permanent brain damage at the site of the stroke which has affected me both physically and mentally, my neck is permanently damaged, other major organs were (& still are) permanently damaged, I have been diagnosed with many long-term medical conditions & diseases (vasculitis, chronic migraines, endometriosis, anemia, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, early onset of menopause, brain aneurysm...just to name a few) which has had a profound affect on my quality of life...about 90% of my life is now spent in bed. And to top it all off, the medical bills continue to pour in and are absolutely astronomical...we're well into the millions. So what is my plea, my hope, my prayer in launching this campaign? Well, my family has never been on a family vacation. NEVER. Sure we've been on a day trip downtown or to a waterpark in town but even those require months & months of saving & scrapping every penny we can but we've never been able to go on a family vacation because we just can't make it happen on our own...we need help. Between my countless doctor visits & co-pays, all my endless medical bills, our normal bills, having to live on just one income because I'm no longer able to work and contribute financially & all the expenses that come with raising 2 children - we just can't make a family vacation happen. Many might ask "why doesn't your husband get a 2nd job?" And the answer to that is two-fold; 1- he does have a side freelance graphic design company (jacmicdesign) that he sometimes gets jobs for but it's nothing steady and 2- in actuality, he already has a 2nd full-time job as my primary care giver. And not only is he my full-time primary caregiver, he's also now the kids primary care giver, because I'm no longer able to be. That's a lot for one person but he does it and does it without complaining. The man has a heart of gold, God truly blessed my life with such an amazing husband. He's managed to hold down his full-time job, which usually requires him to work up to 16 hours a day, plus he takes care of me, our children, our home, does all the shopping & cleaning, etc...he's basically Mr. Mom. That is so much for 1 person & so many times he tells me how useless he feels because he doesn't feel like he's providing enough for our family. I, of course, tell him how wrong he is, and how very thankful I am for him & all he does for me & our children; he's our rock. But unfortunately none of that changes anything when your children ask you "is this the year that we get to go on a family vacation somewhere?" We've tried countless times to try to save enough money to take a family vacation but it proves to be absolutely impossible. I am hoping and praying that by sharing my story we can raise enough money, with your help, to take our children on a vacation that they'll never forget! We'd be eternally grateful for your donation, no matter what the amount. We're just two parents trying to make something special happen for our 2 precious children who have been through SO much at such young, tender ages... Thank you for reading my/our story. ♡