Lady in Distress

Kimberly Laws is a special education teacher in rural SW Virginia with 10 years experience helping high school students with disabilities pass their science classes and overcome personal obstacles. She is also the sole support for her granddaughters: Paytin 2, Libby 4, both of whom she raises, and she also cares for her disabled spouse.

In February, Ms. Laws was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. She began chemotherapy treatments in May and suffered extreme reactions to them that put her in the hospital four times and seriously compromised her immune system to the extent that she was unable to return to work in August.

Since August, Kimberly has used all the sick time she accrued over the years and faces both the prospect of bankruptcy and loss of her insurance coverage unless she either returns to work now, against the wishes of her doctors, or finds a source of income to cover her until at least the beginning of the year and possibly longer if there are complications from the radiation treatments she will soon  begin.  

Donations from friends and colleagues have helped defer some of Kim’s expenses, but we are still looking at a $2000 deficit to cover her cost of living and to pay for her health insurance through January.  Any financial help you can provide this good woman will be greatly appreciated.