Lynette Foster's Family Fund

My name is Courtney Foster, and I'm here to tell you a little bit about my mom, Lynette, and her journey battling ovarian cancer while also supporting my two school-aged cousins by becoming their legal guardian.

For those who know my mom, you know that she is probably the most adventurous 63 year-old around— she loves to camp, kayak, and go bike riding. She is an incredibly involved community member. When I was younger, she helped organize PTA events, field trips, and volunteered in the community all while raising two daughters and working full time as a single mother. She has supported me through every aspect of my life, and I would not be the person I am today without her.

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in May of 2021. I moved back home to Stuart, Florida in order to support her during that difficult time. She went straight into treatment: extensive testing, many rounds of chemotherapy, and eventually surgery that following September. The surgery was deemed a success by her amazing surgeons at Jupiter Medical. She rested for months, and was able to fully retire in March of 2022, giving her the ability to travel, relax, and make the most of every day she’s been given back.

In order to keep the cancer at bay, she will continue to have chemotherapy appointments each week, and CT scans every three months to monitor the cancer cells in order to prevent it from continuing to spread. Due to extensive medical bills and her recent retirement, in August 2022 she moved into a retirement community, sold her house and most of her things.

Unfortunately, things took another turn this past October: her sister, my aunt, Lisa, passed away due to surgery complications at age 65. My aunt was a grandmother and legal guardian to my two cousins, who are 8 and 16, who immediately needed a legal guardian to take care of them after Lisa’s passing.

My mom stepped in and was able to set my cousins up in a new apartment in their school district this past December, and started taking the steps toward legal guardianship. However, the legal process was a lot more than expected, even after going through the daunting process through the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Social Security office to file all the paperwork, she was told by a judge that she needed to hire a lawyer.

On top of taking on the new financial responsibility that comes with taking care of children and her medical bills, she now has to pay thousands of dollars in lawyers fees, all on a fixed retired income.

Now, fast forward to today, 2023, I am aiming to raise $10k for my mom, who is incredibly prideful and is simply doing the best she can. The money raised will go towards the lawyer fees associated with obtaining legal guardianship of my cousins, and to help fund their life together and gain some much needed stability for the family during a very tumultuous time. All I want for my mom and my cousins is for them to go through this new life transition with the least amount of financial stress possible. Anything helps, thank you, blessings all around!