Helping Heather

It is with a heavy heart and intense determination to help Heather live the rest of her life to the very fullest that I am starting this fundraiser. After a year of progressing symptoms. misdiagnosis, multiple hospitalizations (and the discovery of Stage 1 Breast Cancer) Heather and her family are now dealing with the blow of her being diagnosed with ALS.

For those who are unfamiliar with ALS (or Lou Gehrig's Disease), it is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There is currently no cure for ALS and the prognosis is sadly fatal. There is no way to know how much time Heather has for sure, but we do know that during this time, she and her family need our support.

Heather lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Brian. They have 4 daughters, one of whom is only 13. She has always given her time and talents freely, whether cooking amazing food for friends at weekly dinners and her famous annual parties, or just welcoming people into her home and her life. Sadly, ALS has stolen her ability to speak and diminished her motor function to the point where she has had to give up performing, gardening, crafting, creating new recipes and many other things that brought her joy.

Heather has always had a love (one might even call it an obsession) for travel which she used to build a successful career and business as a Disney Travel Agent. ALS has forced her to walk away from this career that she loves, as well as put her family in a difficult financial situation. As you can imagine, the bills for hospital stays and medical necessities have been overwhelming, to say the least, not to mention all the regular household expenses that now fall fully on Brian.

If you know Heather, you know she’d give the shirt off her back to help those she considers her ‘family’ (and she casts a wide net to make that group). If you know her, you also know how incredibly hard it is for her to ask for help. Therefore, as a proud and fortunate member of her "family", I am asking on her behalf. Please consider donating to Heather and her family so that they can spend the time she has left focused on what truly matters – maintaining her quality of life, supporting her health, and making as many beautiful memories as they can while she is still with them.