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GoFundMe creator Samantha Anderson of Phillipsburg says her mother, Kathleen, is “also an amazing grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, and the best friend you could ever have.”
About two months ago, Kathleen, 62, received a heartbreaking diagnosis of Bulbar Onset ALS, which Anderson says typically begins in the face and neck and is ultimately “one of the rarest and most aggressive types of ALS.”
Since then, Kathleen has lost almost all her ability to speak, swallow, and has a high choking risk, turning her eating experience from “pleasurable to a complete burden,” describes Anderson in the fundraiser.
“Her breathing has been severely compromised as well,” Anderson writes. “Any task severely drains any energy she has and leads her to be very short of breath.”
Meanwhile, Kathleen communicates using her iPhone, relies on a noninvasive ventilator, and is enduring what Anderson describes as “the absolute torture of having a sound mind inside a deteriorating body.”
Though Kathleen continues to battle with complete dignity and resilience, her medical expenses have, understandably, piled up.
“Your donation can help us provide the medical treatment she needs and the medical equipment she will require as she declines,” writes Anderson, “as well as allow us as a family to provide care and be there during this time for her.”
Nearly $13,200 had been raised in just three days, putting the family more than halfway toward the campaign’s $25,000 end goal as of Tuesday, April 11.
“Anything will help and is beyond appreciated from the bottom of our hearts,” writes Anderson. "...she is a fighter. However, this disease keeps persisting."
Click here to view/donate to ‘Kathleen’s Battle Against ALS’ on GoFundMe.
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