$15,000

What can $15,000 get you?

Before I answer that question, let's take a step back in time for a moment.

Imagine if you will, a baby girl who has cerebral palsy from a young age of 1.5 years old. She lives with her grandma until she passes away. She then goes into foster care, but when she turns 21 she is forced into a nursing home. For old people. At 21 years old. Though she's in a wheelchair with a speech impediment, she fights to get out. Does so. Goes to college. Meets a man. Falls in love. Gets married. Has two children. She actively fights for the rights of those who are disabled, and is VERY involved in her children's lives and education. She is a strong strong woman who has overcome so much without giving it a second thought.

Now, imagine if you will, that same mother. Her clever son has asthma and sensory issues. Her bright daughter was recently diagnosed with a severe epilepsy disorder that leaves her in seizures 60-70 times daily unless she's medicated. This mother is watching her daughter slowly disappear, and yet realizes that her son still needs her too.

Let's continue, shall we? The same woman who was able to fall in love and marry was also able to fall out of love and divorce. Now she's a single mother whose ex sees the children once or twice a month. In a public setting. Enough said.

What does all of this have to do with $15,000?

That's how much this amazing woman lives off in a year. How? I have no idea. I'm still trying to figure that one out. It certainly puts things in perspective, though. Don't you think?