Jessica is a divorced mother of three. And my absolute best friend. We have been friends for 20 years. I love her as if she were my biological sister. Her son, Alex, was born with a rare recessive genetic metabolic disease called Methylmalonic Acidemia and I have watched her struggle to keep him alive for the past 8 years. She has suffered the worst a mother can with him.  He has been in 3 coma's and was left with brain damage as a result and a multitude of medical issues stemming from his disease. She raises him as if he is not sick so he has the best chance in life. She struggles with leaving her girls behind while hospitalized with him and very rarely lets me see her cry. Then 3 years ago something even worse happened. Jessica's marriage broke down and she was left alone with a very small support system and completley. bankrupt. Then in January of this year,  she celebrated New Years Eve for the first time in her adult life with friends, away from her children. We decided to go dancing. I was attacked that night by a random girl who broke a beer bottle and intended to use it against me. Jessica jumped in to save me and as a result was stabbed 3 times in her left arm and hand. Her hand was left with nerve damage which causes her huge problems when trying to feed Alex. Feeding him adequately is the single most important task to his health and well being, as he is very limited in the amount of protein he can intake. Protein forms as ammonia and methylmalonic acid in his blood and urine immediately during the digestive cycle, effectively poisoning him with every single feed. He is fed through a g-tube in his stomach 10-12 times a day. She has many challenges facing her, between those issues and the fact that her van is now on its last leg, the only way she can get Alex to the hospital, she has also been evicted from her home, because the landlords are selling the property. She can not afford to lose her vehicle, can not afford to move and is struggling to ensure her sons medical supplies are covered every month as she does not have adequate medical coverage. She has been denied coverage due to Alex having a pre diagnosis at 3 weeks old, before she even knew she would need coverage for his special needs. She even had to write 3 letters to parliament, to get the canadian government to recognize his disease as a disability, so she could get the small amount of coverage she does get. The process took 5 years.

Through all this, she has never allowed herself or her children to have a victim attitude, no matter how bad their circumstances. She continues to persevere with strength and courage.

Working even part time is pretty much impossible with Alex's severe medical condition but she has always been able to get by with the odd babysitting or cleaning jobs. But for the past 5 months since the injury to her hand, and the first surgery done just last week to start repairing the never damage, she has been unable to maintain even her small amount of employment. She has now had to use up all of hers and her 14 year old daughter's savings. 

I am asking anyone who is willing and able to please help me give this beautiful woman and her children a chance against their current situation and help ensure they can have stability in the future. This fundraiser is hard for her to swallow and All funds raised will be used to get her a new vehicle without any safety issues.

Thank you for reading and please share. 

Sincerely, 

Leah Daley.