The 15 Minute Challenge

My husband and I were discussing this sort of thing last night.  Sometimes we want to help and feel like we can't do "enough" to help.  What is "enough" really?  Every year that I have raised money for Relay, Race for the Cure and so on I have kept 1 solid mentality......Every single $1 helps!  I had $2 donations one year, guess what?  I was just as grateful and it all added up in the end just the same!

There are 774 friends on my facebook page.  We can add on top of that Twitter and Instagram as well.  Wow.....Imagine if each person donated ONLY One Single $1.  That would be HUGE!

When I was a little girl my mom saved pennies.  Just pennies.  Mom took all 5 of us to the movies with drinks and popcorn with her bucket of pennies.  It was a lesson (although I am not so sure it was the intention) but none the less a lesson I will never forget.

We all have our own struggles and needs and that is totally understandable.  A girl I went to school with reposted a page to a gal raising money for medical treatment a few weeks ago.  No clue who the girl was or anything like that.  Here I am trying to help this family so dear to me raise money for medical expenses with all the have been going through as well but I stopped, followed the link and donated $10.  That is a trip to Starbucks for most people.  My nephew actually works there now PT while going to Nursing College and he was talking about the $$ people throw down on coffee.....lol  It is very true though!

So there is a 15 minute challenge I came across online......

Set a timer for 15 minutes and run around your house, your garage, your car and round up as much spare change as you can find. Check pockets, purses, sofa cushions

I was on work break so I only spent about 6 minutes to be honest and let me show you in the pictures below what I found.....Well over $1 in just 6 minutes.

So, for just a few minutes a day you can help this family get their child the help she needs and a little reassurance that they will be able to focus all their time and attention on getting her better rather than the every day things that we so often take for granted ourselves.

Just a thought and a Reminder that EVERY Single $1 Helps more than we even know.

Do you have a few minutes of your day to take the challenge?

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/angels-needed-for-starla-and-joshua/82589

Updated for Starla and Joshua

Many have asked about updated on my sister's family, thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. Here is the most recent update.

Starla Marie Shope has been struggling so much, but has really been a trooper. She turned 16 yesterday! She however will not be driving for some time. She is currently in a wheel chair and they have put a railed hospital bed in her room as she cannot seem to lay flat and well, we don’t want her rolling out! It’s been a process from a cane, to a walker and now the chair. They will not allow her to go to school at this time as she kept falling and getting hurt so she is currently being home schooled to keep up with her other classmates. Her headaches never stop and they have been getting shots weekly now to help give her some relief for a couple of hours. Her ears have a lot of pressure most of the time and the constant ringing is hard to handle. Her balance is pretty much gone totally now, on her bad days she can't even sit up without support or she falls over. They have been taking her to any doctor they can to try and find her some help. Her group of doctors here at home have decided she needs to go to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. This is about a 10 drive that will be very difficult for Starla to make but we are hoping that it will be worth the trip. The doctors there already have her case and getting a team together to care for her when she arrives. They are going to call next week and let them know when to have her there. If I had to guess I would say they will be admitting her in the next couple of weeks. The doctors here at home are wonderful. They know if her mom call’s that she have already done all she can safely do and they bring her right in, we are so blessed to have them through all this. 

Joshua Derden is still having problems with what they are saying are “Atonic” or “drop seizures” and will be out of work for many more months to come from the way they are talking. They said that he would need to go 6 months without a seizure before he can return to work. He had another and was back in the hospital last Saturday night. They have still not been able to determine if the seizures are a result of the original fall or the fall a result of the seizure but they are leaning towards the first fall causing the seizures. Josh has continued through the seizures to retain new information and new things that he has learned since the original fall. He has not however been able to regain any of the memory from the first 38 years of his life as a result of the original fall and brain injury. It continues to be a long journey.

There is a site set up for donations to assist in medical expenses and travel expenses to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions at all! 

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/angels-needed-for-starla-and-joshua/82589

Meet my niece Starla and my brother-in-law Joshua

MEET Starla

Starla is a bright 15 year old that has been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease.  Starla was a normal young lady until the symptoms of Meniere's started showing themselves about 9 months ago.  Most young people at this age are excited about hanging out with friends, high school, getting their drivers licenses, dating, sports, part-time jobs, but Meniere's has robbed this special young lady of all these things.

Starla has constant ringing in her ears, her balance is very unstable, the room is constantly spinning which makes her physically ill, reading her school books is nearly impossible due to her eyes bouncing so much and the lack of being able to focus on the words.  Starla's hearing is not so good in her left ear; she could become deaf in her left ear (possibly both ears) over time.  She is in need of constant supervision and at times can't even shower without someone with her.  She has fallen so many times and gotten hurt because her balance is so bad.  Her days are long, painful and exhausting; she tries so hard to be symptoms free and does everything the doctors tell her.  There is no cure for Meniere's Disease, the only thing they an do is try to manage the symptoms and pray for a period of time that she may go into remission.

Starla has been working with doctors in her hometown as well as Knoxville, TN.  She has been referred to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville TN.  These trips are very long and difficult on Starla and her family.

MEET JOSHUA

Joshua is Starla's step-father, he is a hard working man that is the main supporter for their family.  Nearly 2 months ago Joshua had an accident that left him with a Traumatic Brain Injury.  Joshua is 38 years old and due to the accident he has no memories of the past 38 years of his life.  He is having to relearn who "HE" is, who the people around him are (including his wife and kids), he has no memory of his job or what he does, is learning basic things all over again.

Joshua has started having seizures now due to the Traumatic Brain Injury, this has been a very scary thing for him and his family to go through.  He has been working with a specialist and working on recovery.  It is very upsetting for Joshua knowing that he was always a hard working man with a "family first and most important" attitude and now due to the accident he is unable to work and support his family and feeling so lost inside his own mind.  Imagine, if you will, waking up one day and everything about who you are is gone in an instant.

The family has always been the typed of family that reaches out to help others no questions asked.  The family has always been there to help family, friends, a neighbor or community as a whole.  Now their world has been turned upside down to say the least.  There are three other children in this family, two of which have just graduated high school and starting college and one that is a "special needs' and a junior in high school. - 

See ➡ http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/angels-needed-for-starla-and-joshua/82589

Every $1 helps and donations are tax deductible. Please feel free to ask questions and share with others you know.