Navy Vet’s Autistic Family needs YOUR help!

Hi, we’re Pattie & Tommy.

We are loving and devoted parents to 6 amazing kids! 4 are adults now, but as any parent knows the journey from birth to adulthood can be filled with both joy and struggle.

Tommy served 22 years in the Navy—including the tsunami and nuclear disaster relief efforts. Pattie was an Art History major with straight-A dreams… until life demanded a different kind of strength.

In 2016, our twins, the youngest of our six children were diagnosed with autism, and our oldest son already on the spectrum (a teenager at that time) experienced an “autism crisis”.

Overnight, I became their full-time caregiver and advocate, leaving school in my Junior year to manage therapies, IEP meetings, and bureaucratic battles, while Tommy hustled to make ends meet.

Now our 4 older children are successfully adulting on their own because I put my educational goals on hold to fight for them to succeed. But I still continue to this day to fight for our twins! Especially in this chaotic time of uncertainty.

My husband works 15-hour days to keep us afloat, but even with his Navy retirement, his VA benefits couldn’t cover the gaps.

The systems that should’ve helped us failed spectacularly:

- ✖ **Denied SSI/disability because our kids were deemed "not autistic enough"—despite doctors’ diagnosis and recommendations, therapists, teachers and IEP documentation.

- ✖ Lost Medicaid waivers after years of appeals.

- ✖ Student loans now threaten to sink us, despite Income-Driven Repayment plans, and now demands for repayment on a moment’s notice!

We’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking for a fighting chance.

The $80,000 we need would:

✅ Erase student debt so I can finally finish my degree and work.

✅ Secure therapies our kids were denied.

✅ Stop the cycle of choosing between groceries and loan payments.

Why Give?

- Honor a veteran’s service: After 22 years protecting others, his family shouldn’t drown in debt.

- Support autism parents: 70% of special-needs caregivers leave careers—few recover financially.

- Break the system: We’re proof that even ‘hardworking families’ fall through the cracks.

Every $10 = One less meal we sacrifice to debt collectors.

If 8,000 people give $10, we’re free.

After 22 years of dedication to your freedom, we are now asking America to return the favor.

Please donate $10 (or more) if you can.

Share this like you’re throwing us a lifeline—because you are.