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Roof Raisers

Every day, ordinary people are changing the world in extraordinary ways. This online community is dedicated to telling their stories.
If you or someone you know has changed a home, a community, or even a life, HGTV wants to hear about it! Share your story now.

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my beautiful gifts from God

Created: Apr 22, 2012 | Flag

We lost our home, as I lost my 20 yr. profession as an acute care R.N. when someone hit me at over 100mph on a highway and I suffered a permanent brain injury. My children were displaced but children are resilient.My son is now 14 but was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrisis at 12 and has suffered horribly with more than 14 hospitalizations-it's in his pancreas and has chronic pancreatitis. For 2 years he lived on 20 grams of fat in 24 hours or nothing. He is bitter and doesn't believe in God right now, even though we are religious because he says, " if ther's a God, then why do 3& 4 year olds die of cancer, and why before I have a chance to live my dreams have they been squashed before i even have a chance to experience them?" I tell him I don't know, I just can't make sense of it either, only the Lord knows. He was homebound for 7th & 8th grade and walked into H.S. this year but has already been hospitalized 3 times since Nov. and catches everything and a simple flu he can't fight. The CF mutation that is on my son's chromosome is not on the likely gene to cause disease but he is more than 1/3 of the end stage of 14,000 that his specialist has seen in his 27 years of practice and his Dr. is sure there is an additional mutation they have not found. Now my daughter who just turned 11 on April 20, is homebound and has been this entire year. She had such bad, vague respiratory symptoms that steroids, nothing would help, so they went in and did a bronchoscopy, where they look at the lungs under general anesthesia in Oct. looking for CF, they didn't find that but they found ulcers in her airway from some virus and the coughing was so severe that we couldn't feed her as she already sucked something in her lung. While waiting to hear the news, i sat paralyzed with fear and was alone with no support. the ulcers healed after 3 months and then she started losing a lb/week. I kept telling every Dr. from the onset in Oct., look at her color, we are missing something here. Finally months later, labs were drawn and I collapsed when it revealed pancreatitis, I thought she was anemic as she was very pale, not yellow like her brother. Then I smelled the heavy keytones on her breath, the same as her brother's. And before her brother started violently vomiting with pancreatic pain Ibrought him to an endocrinologist, I knew I was smelling something from the pancreas and he just blew me off. My daughter wasn't found to have CF mutations on the 1st DNA drawn but they are being redrawn. One mother, 2 kids. Oh My God1 I go out in the garage and cry so they don't see me fearful as both of my children have asked me in the last 2 years if they are going to die. My daughter has watched her brother so sick and starving with his ribs sticking out, she has slept in the hospital with him. I can't take away the image of her seeing a Dr. sit on robert's bed and tell him that with good medical care, he could possibly live to be 50 as he's crying in my arms looking at his healthy 58 year old father. Their father is a violent alcoholic, and even though I knew I was taking on a lot with my health being poor and 2 very sick kids, it was the best and only option. I didn't want my daughter to grow up and look for someone abusive like her father and i didn't want my son to think it's normal to treat his wife that way, so I took a stand and it's hard, but a mother's love can move mountains. I am sick with Crohn's, blood clots from Crohn's antibodies and on coumadin for life, diabetic and a port implanted in my heart and I do it all, even with a brain injury but its hard, real hard. If I could take it all away from them, i would as i've lived for 46 years and they haven't. I know my daughter is scared but she is a very positive, loving and giving child and is coping with the unknown. We have very rare conditions with my children and so no other family has to go through this, I will be releasing this as a case study for the advance of medicine, as this situation has never been seen before. My daughter may have a rare condition that is not CF but we don't yet know, alls we know is that I have 2 kids in full blown pancreatitis and 1 with CF. I pray so hard and I know the Lord understands why I ask so much of him-my children are the greatest gift from him. I am permanently disabled and seperated but can't afford the legalities but my husband and I haven't lived together for more than a year and I so desperately want to give these children a home again to call their own as that is the one thing they miss. I look at the diploma's on the wall and know I have the experience and knowledge cause I didn't lose my medical knowledge or my efinity to learn but short term memory loss would put a patient at risk and I have too much integrity to ever put a life at risk but I worked full time and went to school full time as a single parent of my 26 year old son to give my son a better life and i did that. I never asked anyone for anything but i'm asking for my children

my sister's keeper

Created: Mar 19, 2012 | Flag

my sister, lyn smith and her husband david, have been homeless for awhile now. it is a sad story, my sisterr took care of everyone, when she could. she took complete care of my mom when she was on hospice dying from cancer. i am the weaker one, i could do the house old stuff and the visitors, but my sister never left mama's side right thru that last breath. she went on back to work, where she and her husband worked for eleven years, soon after the management came and gave them a week's notice that the company would close in one week. as it did, they tried to keep up their mortgage, gave up all luxurys like cable, gas, and electricity. doing everything to sae having a home. after selling both vehicles, and eventually forclosure on the house, they were homeless, insurance less, living in their car with a few clothes, and three dogs. they stayed a few weeks here and there and tried to just survive. they both have major medical problems, and when the insurance was gone, so was the health care and medication, my sister has diabetes, and cardic disease, and high blood pressure. they have taken many jobs, but there isn't many long term positions available, not long enough to save evouogh to put deposits on a rental, and utilities. it all looks hopeless. my sister has always fought with depression and had been on meds for years, now she just suffers, and had tried suicide many times just to get rest. unfortunately my cousin passed away 8 weeks ago with cancer and his home was left abandoned, vandals have went in and destroyed most of the place, stealing the wiring, and plumbing, and even the kitchen sink to sell for scrap metal. therefore, i was able to purchase the home for a low price. they now have a permanant home but is is in horrible condition. my brother in law was in construction many years and can do alot of the work, but with me on disability it took all my savings and borrowing for the purchase. they need help, or supplies or just a little encouragement. if you have any companies or sponsors that could help, even a light bulb, box of nails, or a piece of plywood, or a hammer any help would be appreciated. they are working by flashlight to clean it up, and have no water or toilet, but it is better than the car. thank you for listening to my story, this is reality. and with just a little help it can be changed. thank you, pam flores