Mom's Trip to the Beach

My name is Sara Porter. My family and I are located in Southeastern Indiana. 
This is my mom. Her name is Ann Alexander. This picture (sorry for the quality!) was taken in 1993; she had just graduated nursing school and was getting ready to have her second child, a daughter, me! 
Here's another picture that captures my mom's beauty! People say I have her smile; lucky me!


In November of 2015, my mother fell very ill. She is 51 years old and has been chronically ill since 1999 when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer after giving birth to my baby brother, Wyatt. 

This is my mom with my baby brother. He's almost seventeen now, and his head is slightly less egg shaped! She had just come home from the hospital after being held longer than my brother. 

Mom was treated with pelvic radiation that left her body riddled with scar tissue and brittled her bones. The effects have damaged her kidneys, deteriorated her spine, prompted bladder removal, and wreaked havoc on my mother's body and spirit. 
My mom is one of the women who received an Indiana Pouch after she was treated with high-dose radiation. You can read about the condition these individuals are left with here: Indiana Pouch/Renal Failure. She's undergone dozens of surgeries over the years, including installment and removal of a pain pump that was embedded in her body to combat her chronic pain. Mom fought the battles her body  waged against her one by one. She never gave up.

However, this year it was different. Mom spent three months at Methodist Hospital in and out of sedation as surgery after surgery was performed. She was given a colostomy bag. When the doctors felt they had finally dealt with Mom's critical issues, they suggested that she be moved to a long-term care facility.  She refused to let that be her fate and demanded to go home to her grandbabies. She now receives consistent visits from home healthcare specialists, and she makes the two hour trip to Indianapolis to visit her doctor; there have still been trials, such as the hospital visit when she went septic after developing an infection.

 Mom was held in the hospital over Mother's Day for an upcoming surgery. 
Mom told me she wants to go to the ocean for what might be the last time as it does not seem that she is going to feel any better than she does now. She asked  me to drive her (she's afraid of flying) to Myrtle Beach (where her childhood friend "Little" Nancy lives) in July.

My mom means so much to me and I want nothing more than to fulfill her desire to enjoy the beach after all she's experienced. Unfortunately, my mother lives off disability as she is no longer able to perform work duties, and I am a college student who lives independently in a campus town. I work long hours to barely scrape by with rent, a car payment, and bills to pay. We aren't able to acquire the funds to make this trip a possibility in the short amount of time we seem to have. 

Nothing makes my mom happier than sand between her toes and the sun on her face. She grew up on the east coast and has fond memories of regular trips with her family to the ocean as a child. Heck, she even sleeps with a fan on, because it reminds her of the ocean. What I'm trying to say is that this trip would mean so much to my mom at this point in her life. Consequently, it would mean a lot to me if I could somehow find a way to make it happen.

I'm asking you kind people of the community to spare my mother and I any donation you can so we get mom to the beach! I think we can manage doing this by raising $1500 (the average price of a vacation to Myrtle Beach).
Mom and I plan to send postcards to anyone who donates (so long as you're comfortable sharing your address)!
Thank you for taking the time to read our story! It means a lot to us. We appreciate any donation, but if you're not able to contribute monetarily, we would also be extremely grateful for any share or like of this link/page!