Rebecca and Alex Need Your Help

I’m Rebecca - a single mom with an awesome daughter named Alex. Right now, I am recovering from surgery to remove a seizure-causing brain tumor. It’s been a complicated, expensive journey, so I am asking for your help to get Alex and me back on our feet.

I’ve been on my own with Alex for the last several years. We’ve been through some hard bumps, but it’s been my number one goal to keep things as steady and positive as possible for her in this crazy world. It was going pretty well.

But life shifted dramatically last fall.

While helping Alex with her homework, I suddenly had a massive seizure with convulsions and lost consciousness. At just 11-years-old, Alex managed to handle the incredibly scary situation like a boss and was able to summon help to get me to the hospital. She was amazing and is quite literally my hero.

After a trip to the ER, a lot of tests, and an evaluation by a neurosurgeon, we found out that I had been having minor seizures for a while and at least one other major one. We were told that I had a bleeding tumor in my brain that would have to be removed with surgery. In the meantime, I was placed on anti-seizure medication and restricted activity which included no driving a car until the safety risk of having a seizure behind the wheel could be resolved.

I was super relieved that the driving restriction wouldn’t keep us from living, as I had a remote, computer-based job and I had family and friends to help get Alex and I get around. We were going to get through this! I would just need about 6 weeks of leave to recover from the surgery. However, when I told my employer of my diagnosis and requested information about medical leave, instead of working with me, they added me to their lay-off list and booted me. It was quite a blow to go from the belief that I would have paid leave, decent, ongoing insurance coverage, and a job to return to… to suddenly be facing down brain surgery with no income.

The good news, the bright spot, is that surgery went well and I am recovering nicely! I had an amazing doctor and team, and I was able to deliver on Alex’s only Christmas wish – “Mom to be okay.”

It’s been just over a month since the surgery, and despite all the progress I have made, the healing is a long, slow process. The safety restrictions remain. I’m still not allowed to drive but can soon begin the process of finding a new job. The new issue is the mountain of medical bills.

Alex and I have been incredibly lucky to have received so much love and care from our family, friends, and allies. I have been boosted by the encouragement from many to ask for help. I am so grateful for the message that it’s ok to admit help is needed. So, I am doing what for me is the hardest part of this so far – I am asking for help. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. We are so grateful for you and for everyone who has already touched our lives throughout this challenging journey.