APD Officer Edwards' Family in Need

Marissa Edwards is the absolute hardest working, most badass cop and mother I know. We were in the Academy together. No matter how hard I tried, Marissa was always 4 seconds faster than me or scored 3 points higher on exams – and she did that while also being a full-time mom to 3 exceptional children, who were all under ten years old. Then about midway through the Academy, Marissa’s house burned down. I mean, to the ground. Gone. Thankfully, the kids who were home at the time were able to get to safety and call for help. Marissa did not miss a beat; she went home, cleaned up the mess, organized the chaos, re-arranged schedules, then she straightened out her uniform and was back at the Academy the next day (still kicking my butt in every subject). And through it all, Marissa’s mother was right there helping out with the kids and anything else that needed to be taken care of.

Marissa is a very private person and a very capable human being. However, right now, she needs a little extra help from us: two weeks ago, Marissa’s mother suffered a brain aneurysm that required open skull surgery and while in recovery, she suffered a stroke. Marissa has been working extra overtime shifts while taking care of the kids and sleeping at the hospital at her mother’s bedside. Despite having her life upended (again), Marissa ensured the kids still had a Thanksgiving dinner before making the almost hour-long drive to the hospital to spend the night with her mother.

I am setting this GoFundMe up on Marissa and her family’s behalf since Marissa would never even think to ask. Not because of pride, but because Marissa prefers to face all of life’s challenges head-on, and I have no doubt that she can handle her mother’s continued medical care while juggling mom-life and still working full time (with overtime). Marissa is cool like that. I hope that we, the Austin Police family, can come together and help a kickass mom and a fantastic cop so she can take a breather from the overtime and spend a little more time with her family.

A couple of dollars here means a couple of hours at home for Marissa. Thank you and be safe!