Nodens needs care, and I am asking for help because I cannot cover it alone right now.

He is my service dog, my daily companion, and the one steady presence that helps me keep moving when everything else feels heavy. This fundraiser is for Nodens' care and for the short-term essential bills and basic stability I need so I can catch my breath and actually get him the help he needs. It is not for my business, politics, or legal fees.

I have spent most of my adult life trying to solve my own problems by working harder instead of asking for help. That is still my instinct. But I am at a point where the dog who helped me endure now needs help that I cannot provide by myself fast enough.

In 2004, when my daughter Madison was nine months old, I was hit by a drunk driver. I survived a traumatic brain injury and severe facial trauma that required five plates and about thirty screws. I went back to work while I was still in brain-injury rehabilitation, and later I spoke for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Since then, life has not exactly eased up. I have lived through displacement, fire, financial disruption, family separation, and years of physically demanding work. I am now nearing fifty, and I cannot solve every crisis by just working more hours the way I once did.

At the same time, I am carrying the emotional and administrative pressure of navigating VA medical care, disability processes, and the constant burden of paperwork and follow-through. I am also under serious financial strain connected to the COVID-era period, including IRS pressure that came out of that time. On top of that, a difficult tenant and property situation is consuming time, money, and emotional capacity and has put pressure on my own housing stability.

I am not surrendering. I am still rebuilding. I am still working. I am still trying to create something sustainable instead of collapsing under the weight of one more setback. But this is one place where I need help.

Nodens is not an accessory in my life. He is my only daily companion and a real part of how I stay emotionally grounded. If you have ever depended on one good dog to get you through the day, you already understand why this matters.

Funds from this campaign will be used for Nodens' veterinary treatment, follow-up care, medication, and approved related costs, along with immediate overdue essential bills that are keeping me from stabilizing enough to move forward. That includes basic housing, utilities, transportation, and similar necessities directly tied to getting through this stretch. I will provide updates so people know what was scheduled, what was paid, and how the money was used.

If more is raised than the immediate need requires, I will use it first for Nodens' follow-up care and then for the same category of essential short-term stability needs described in this campaign, with public updates explaining how it was used.

If you can help, thank you. If you cannot donate, sharing this campaign would still mean a great deal to me.

Thank you for helping me take care of the companion who has helped take care of me.