I lost my mum—my best friend, my entire world—to breast cancer 2y ago. As an only child with an absent father, no siblings, spouse, children or extended family, she was all I had. When she got diagnosed with breast cancer (TNBC) in 2019, I dropped everything, my job, my life to take care of her full-time. We tried everything possible, her treatments weren’t working and eventually the cancer left her paralyzed which brought on even more health complications. Through it all, it was just the two of us. It was a three-year long battle and after her passing, the battle didn’t end, I haven’t been the same since. Grief took over and been struggling with ptsd, depression, anxiety, abandonment trauma and sometimes intrusive thoughts to end it all. With no outlet everything has stayed pent up and therapy hasn’t really been an option I could afford.

And now..my dad has reappeared, hes ill, bedridden & has come to me for support. After years of betrayal, abandonment and living recklessly, it’s now catching up with his health. He’s been moved to a senior facility for round-the-clock care and I’m the only person responsible for him here since we don’t really have extended family. Every little bit of savings I had is going towards his care. It’s been back-to-back struggle and has become nearly impossible to manage his health and my own, while also trying to provide for us both without any steady income in three years. I’m financially, mentally, emotionally and physically burnt out. 

I’m 28 and spent all my 20s caregiving, in-and-out of hospitals and grieving. I never got the chance to start a life. I’ve tried so hard to get back up but finally hit a wall. If you’re able to support me, here’s what it would go toward:

* Starting therapy to reclaim my mental health and hopefully begin healing 

* Paying off overdue bills and debts that have piled up 

* Giving my mum a permanent resting place at the church niche before her temporary one is cleared 

* Covering my dad’s monthly senior home care, medication and any upcoming hospital bills— it would lift a huge weight off my shoulder 

* Rebuilding my life from the ground up—which includes catching up on eight years of everything I put on hold 

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Even just sharing this helps more than you know. I’ve lost so much, but I’m still here. And I would be endlessly grateful for any support.