Samantha, Drew, and Kenzie Hamilton

Hi, my name is Kim and this GoFundMe was started to help my friend Sam. At this point, Drew and Sam are struggling to make ends meet, and would be abundantly blessed by financial gifts to help maintain childcare for their daughter, pay medical bills, and afford important medication for Sam.

Here is Sam's story, written in her words:

On March 9th, 2021 our family of two welcomed our first child, a baby girl. As if a brand new baby was not hard enough, I had just started paramedic school with Montgomery County Hospital District’s first cohort class. Thinking I could quickly recover because I had had an easy pregnancy with no complications, I was ready to return to class.

However, on March 21st I became non-responsive at my home. First responders quickly got me to the hospital where I was intubated, placed on a ventilator, and rushed to emergency surgery: I had had a stroke. Doctors informed my family that I would likely not recover or would have permanent brain damage if I did. To everyone’s surprise, after 1 week in the hospital, I was awake with normal brain function but I had left-side visual deficits and was unable to fully walk or stand. I spent the next couple of months in therapy where I learned how to walk, read and adjust to a new visual field.

Being a first responder, I wanted to recover quickly and get back to work. However, just a few days before I was due to return to work I had a seizure. Because of my seizure, I had to return to therapy; some of the deficits that I worked so hard to overcome had come back.

After getting everything under control with medication, once again I was ready to return to work. Astonishingly, I was delayed again when I had a rare 24-hr long seizure along with a surprise miscarriage that landed me intubated and in the hospital for another week.

Now October, just a few weeks after my previous hospital stay, I found myself hospitalized again. This time it was more than unusual. I was unable to interpret my surroundings. I was hearing voices, seeing things that did not exist, and was completely unaware of reality. My husband was by my side the entire time. He took care of our baby, me, and all household duties while still trying to work. This hospital trip lasted 2 weeks with no real answer from doctors. Finally, after being on an EEG for weeks, doctors found that I was having severe side effects from seizure medications that were being prescribed at higher-than-average dosages.

Once released from the hospital with different medication, our family was finally able to begin the road to recovery. We then discovered that my husband's job would no longer support him due to the amount of time he had taken off. They denied his FMLA and no longer supported his choice to take care of his family. Knowing family was more important, my husband quit his job in order to be a stay-at-home dad and give me the opportunity to keep my job and pursue being a paramedic.

Finally, after being out of work for 1 year, I was cleared by doctors to return to work on the ambulance. I had been seizure-free for 6 months and all my deficits had fully resolved!

Devastatingly, despite being seizure-free, I recently received a letter that states I am no longer allowed to drive emergency vehicles. As a result, my salary has been reduced, I cannot work on the ambulance, and my family now finds ourselves struggling to pay regular bills.

Additionally, our daughter Kenzie has severe allergies to dairy, soy, gluten, squash, and oranges and is on a daily regimen of medications and a strict diet to help keep her well.

Today I find myself working two jobs. My husband finally found a job but we are still unable to afford to pay for daycare, monthly prescriptions, and doctor visits, leaving us to choose which important needs go unmet that month.

Our family deeply appreciates any help that you are able to provide. $10,000 will allow us to cover 4 months worth of daycare and medical bills. Thank you for reading our story and above all, we ask for prayer.