Hi! My name is Phillip, and I’m not one to usually ask for help. In fact I’ve spent most of my life doing right the opposite. From military service to working as a Paramedic and in ERs, I’ve tried to help others who were in need. Now, it’s I who is in need. Or, more specifically, I’m an in need in order to help my mother.
My father Father passed away in January 2014, followed by Step-Father in 2019. My Father was diagnosed and went down hill rapidly in 2012, and a testament to my Step-Father, it was agreed that my father come stay with both of them. He passed away January 2014.
The night before my Father’s Funeral, my Step-Father collapsed and I performed CPR, nearly losing him. He was taken to ER by ambulance. We stayed overnight with my Mother and he, and I went straight to Dad’s Funeral from my Step-Dad’s hospital room. My mother missed the Funeral to stay there with him. We were given his cancer diagnosis the next day.
They would both go on to lose battles to cancer, both in January, both days after my Birthday. Myself and my Mother took care of both of them throughout their tragic battles and passing, alternating 24/7, my mother being semi-retired, the more selflessly giving of herself. Be it exhausted or seemingly overwhelmed, she never once complained or shied away from her “responsibilities” to be there for both of them to the very end.
While I helped how I could, having a career, marriage and family, while traveling back and forth to stay and help her from where I lived, meant I was not there like I truly wished I could be. I took them both on their last camping and fishing trips, and to see their last College Football games. Perhaps if my siblings had helped more, it wouldn’t have taken such a toll on my Mother and both of our finances.
In September of 2020, with the medical bills from my Step-Dad still piled up on her, my Father’s expenses weighing on my shoulders, that I was still receiving, the worst thing that could have occurred other than her own passing, did exactly that. My mother dog sat for a very close family friend, while she was having to move after her divorce. Her 4 year old pitbull, Marley. Tragedy ensued.
One night, myself, my nephew and our family friend were at my mom’s playing games and cards. My mother went outside to play with and feed the friends PitBull. While we laughed and talked at the table waiting for her, she screamed to us for help. The Pit Bull had attacked.
I’ll save the details, and visual cues of that horrible experience, as even for someone trained in combat and with a mixed martial arts background in Aikido, Krav Maga and Jiu-Jitsu it was a life and death battle. I sustained some injuries that have eventually faded to jagged scars. And we still don’t know why the dog attacked. But my Mother was the primary outlet of the animals fury. Her left arm and hand were nearly amputated in the attack and irreparable damage was inflicted on her mangled extremity.
2 years later, she’s still in pain most days, limited use of her left arm, and Financials ravaged by my Step-Dad’s Funeral and Medical costs, and her own Medical bills. Then in 2022 my brother, who owns a roofing and construction company took advantage of her by getting her to file an insurance claim on her roof for his company to do the work and then took the money and ran. My mother could not bring herself to go after her own son, so that’s how that ended. With her barely avoiding am insurance fraud investigation and losing her homeowners insurance thereby possibly losing her house.
So, to bring an end to this story, I’ve helped every way that I can, given every spare dime I could, and ran the wheels off my truck taking extra clients, work orders and side gigs to do what I could. Literally. I burned through 2 trucks in 2 years taking jobs for clients all over the country. Breaking down in Wyoming and having to fly and leave truck and tools and fly back to Tennessee to start over. This last truck blew the engine and was $5000 for the new engine and install. Given that, I’m strapped for what else I can do.
My Mother still owes Medical bills for herself, we have paid off my Dad and Step-dad’s debts, the roof is in desperate need of repair as well as other areas of the house, and she risks losing her insurance again of repairs don’t start soon, and now her truck just blew its engine. So she has no way to go anywhere easily, without myself or her best friend taking her, nor the money to really pay for Ubers or Lyfts.
My goal is to gather the money to pay off her remaining medical bills, fix her truck or use it and some funds to trade it in and pay off a decent, dependable used car or electric vehicle, do the most critical repairs to the house required by insurance, and send her on a modest vacation with her best friend, so we can surprise her with the repairs and car when she gets back. I want to send her on a road trip across Route 66 to California and back, to see the all the splendor and Landmarks on the Mother Road. Nothing extravagant. To rent an RV and her, her best friend and myself as the chauffeur, take her on a once in a lifetime adventure, as she’s never ventured far from her home in Memphis.
My mother is an amazing woman and I’ve done everything I can on my own to pay her back and be there for her as she has been for me and my Fathers. And there has still been no help from my family for her. She deserves to not have to worry about her roof leaking, being able to go get milk and bread or run what errands she needs to without wondering how she will do it, or waiting on me or her friend to get off work.
So with our story out there for the world to see, and show how brave, compassionate and amazing a human being my mother is… I humbly and gratefully ask for help, to do this for the SuperHero I call “Mom”. I love this woman, and should this fundraiser fail, I will only try harder to get the money to give her the quality of life she deserves and the vacation she would never be able to take on her own.
Thank you for taking the time to consider helping me make this all come true, and for donating should you have the means to do so. I know that times are hard for most, if not all of us, but my Mother’s health was not helped by all that had happened and I just want to see her happy again and know that she never has to worry about her house being taken away or falling down around her anymore.
I’ve included my Self-Employed/Side-Gig PayPal.me below, to offer more peace of mind that this is a legit request for help.
Thank You Again!
https://www.paypal.me/DevilDogSystems