Just over one year after nearly losing both my life and my son during a traumatic emergency delivery and 54-day NICU stay, our family received another life-changing phone call.

Today, we are asking for help obtaining a medically necessary vehicle capable of safely transporting our family, our youngest son’s medical equipment, and the children entrusted to our care.

This is not about luxury.

This is not about convenience.

This is about ensuring a medically fragile child can safely access the healthcare, therapies, specialists, and services he needs to thrive.

Our youngest son, Presley, lives with Cerebral Palsy, hearing loss, feeding difficulties, G-tube dependence, and developmental challenges that require ongoing medical care, therapies, specialists, adaptive equipment, and constant advocacy. Many of his appointments require traveling more than 60 miles each way.

Every trip involves transporting feeding supplies, emergency medical equipment, adaptive devices, mobility equipment, and the caregivers needed to support him safely. Multiple healthcare providers have documented that a larger vehicle is medically necessary to safely transport Presley and the equipment required for his care.

Just as we were learning to navigate those challenges, our family was asked to step in for another child in need.

We recently welcomed an infant relative into our home through the foster care system after he was abandoned at birth. Because of confidentiality laws, we cannot share many details, but this precious little boy was born with significant prenatal substance exposure and ongoing medical and developmental concerns. Like Presley, he requires additional appointments, monitoring, and specialized care.

Today, our home is filled with five children who depend on us every day.

We would not change that for anything.

But first, a little back story.

I was raised by a single mother who had me at 16 years old. She taught me what it means to be strong, resilient, independent, accepting, kind, confident, fearless, and willing to move mountains for your children.

She taught me that love shows up every day.

Love stays.

Love is hard, but worth fighting for.

And love is unconditional.

Those lessons shaped the woman and mother I am today.

She later married the man I call my dad, who serves our community as a peace officer. Watching his dedication to helping others ultimately influenced my decision to join the military.

I spent seven years serving in the U.S. Army Reserves, where I learned discipline, sacrifice, resilience, and how to keep showing up during life’s hardest moments. During COVID, I spent long periods separated from my family. The Army became a second family and taught me strength I never knew I had.

Asking for help has never come easily to me.

I have always been the person who figures things out, pushes through, and quietly carries the weight without complaint.

Growing up with a single mother and serving in the military taught me to endure hardship and keep moving forward. Asking for support often felt like letting my guard down.

But life has taught me something different.

Sometimes courage isn’t carrying the weight alone.

Sometimes courage is allowing others to help carry it with you.

So this is me doing something that feels incredibly vulnerable: asking for help.

During my pregnancy with Presley, our lives changed forever.

At just 31 weeks pregnant, my water suddenly broke. After driving myself to the hospital, I experienced a placental abruption and was rushed into an emergency C-section under general anesthesia after doctors could no longer find our son’s heartbeat.

Moments after arriving at the hospital, I was given antibiotics and immediately went into anaphylactic shock. I could not breathe. My body began swelling, burning, and shutting down.

At the same time, I began violently trembling from the trauma my body was experiencing.

Doctors later told us that if I had arrived even five minutes later, we may not be here today.

It was one of the most terrifying experiences of our lives.

We came face-to-face with death.

Yet somehow, both of us survived.

The fight was far from over.

Presley spent 54 days in the NICU before finally coming home.

Today, that same little boy continues to amaze us every day. Despite every obstacle placed in front of him, he continues to fight, grow, and prove everyone wrong.

When we thought life had already thrown us everything, we received another phone call that changed our lives forever.

A newborn baby boy — my nephew — had been abandoned at the hospital while going through withdrawals after being exposed to multiple substances before birth.

Tiny.

Fragile.

Fighting for comfort from the moment he entered this world.

And completely alone.

Three years earlier, I had searched for siblings through 23andMe after growing up knowing very little about my biological father’s side of the family. Through that search, I found siblings I never knew existed, including his mother.

Although I had hoped for a relationship with her, addiction had already taken hold of her life. Eventually, I had to step away to protect my children and my peace.

Then came the call.

Despite no longer having a relationship, she listed me as her emergency contact. The hospital called asking if I knew where she was. Shortly afterward, DHS contacted me.

He had no one.

Without hesitation, my husband, our four children, and I stepped in.

At first, we simply showed up every day at the NICU to hold him, comfort him, feed him, change him, and make sure he was never alone.

And somewhere during those visits, we fell completely in love with him.

How could we not?

Despite being born without even having a name, we knew he had been placed in our lives for a reason.

The parents eventually chose not to pursue reunification and instead place him for adoption.

When that moment came, there was never a question.

We said yes.

Because family is family.

Because no child deserves abandonment.

Because every child deserves someone willing to fight for them and love them.

And somehow, our hearts simply made room.

Today, our family is navigating therapies, hospital visits, foster care appointments, school activities, work, and everyday life with a vehicle that no longer safely meets our needs.

Our leased vehicle expires in December 2026. Our truck has experienced mechanical issues and cannot safely accommodate our family, multiple car seats, medical equipment, adaptive devices, feeding supplies, and the children entrusted to our care.

Despite working full-time, adjusting our budget, exploring financing options, and utilizing available resources, obtaining a vehicle capable of safely transporting our family remains out of reach. A recent reduction in household income has made that challenge even greater.

We are humbly asking for help obtaining safe, reliable transportation so that Presley can continue accessing medically necessary care and so we can continue saying “yes” to the children who need us.

Hard beginnings do not have to define a child’s future.

This baby deserved someone to stay.

Presley deserves every opportunity to thrive.

And we will continue choosing them, over and over again.

If our story touches your heart, whether through prayers, sharing our story, resources, diapers, clothing, donations, or support in any form, please know it means more than words can express.

Every donation, share, and prayer helps lighten the load for our family and helps ensure that no child is left behind because of transportation barriers.

Thank you for believing in our family.

Thank you for believing in children like Presley and baby boy.

And thank you for helping us continue to say “yes.”

With gratitude,

The Burton Family ❤️