Enzo's Mama needs a BREAK!

Hi all! I’m not sure where to start as I’ve never done this before. My friend Angela needs a break! It’s simple. Life is not always easy with you have a child with autism, and severe autism at that. She has been so great with him and has been trying and trying to do what she can to make sure he is happy in life and not just be ok with the status quo that some people are ok with. Enzo has super high anxiety and Angela and his doctor have been trying to alleviate it with meds and coping and things had been going quite well. However, ever since July of this year things just haven’t been working the same with Enzo and everything seems to have just fallen apart at the seams.

She had already lost her job in the spring where they knew of her needs because of her son and they seemed to be good with it in the beginning. But then they decided she wasn’t for them and claimed it had nothing to do with her son. She has since been looking for something else that she can do with flexibility but it’s so difficult for her when Enzo’s autism is so severe she can barely leave the house. She was offered a position with another company where she will be able to work from home and go to on-site meetings occasionally. It was supposed to start this month but has now been pushed to January. Once this gets started she should be able to get back on her feet but in the meantime, she really needs help and I’m not in the position to be able to help her like I’d love to.

The autistic center she was working with wasn’t very flexible with Enzo’s needs. She is a very present parent and knows what he needs, but they didn’t want to listen and help. It may go without saying but he is no longer with that center and she’s now struggling to find a better organization for his specific needs.

His father is overseas and pays some child support, which normally goes for insurance costs but now things are falling apart with insurance.  He claims he’s making less money,  so now child support will decrease.

I could keep listing all the things that seem to have broken for her this year but there’s just no time. Please find it in your heart to help me to help HER to just keep her home, pay the bills, and feed Enzo and herself. Something we might take for granted when we don’t have much money is we can just buy cheaper food. However, with Enzo, he only eats specific things and goes through phases with it. At the time of writing this, he will only eat chicken tenders breaded with Whole Foods Italian bread crumbs (trust me, she’s tried different brands and he turns them down, it’s crazy), Cole’s garlic bread, certain flavors of Outshine popsicles (occasionally), and Papa John’s breadsticks. When you’re scrambling together money for food, you don’t really want to spend it on pizza delivery but this is what she has to do to get him to eat. He won’t bat an eyelash when he turns down food. If anyone has an IN with Papa John’s please help us find out if they would be willing to donate some frozen breadsticks/gift cards, anything will help.

Sorry for the novel, trust me it definitely could be longer. Angela and I have been friends for over 20 years and I’ve never known her to be lazy and want a handout. She has been doing what she can without compromising Enzo’s quality of life. She’s an amazing mom and just can’t seem to catch a break right now. If I had the money, I’d help her with anything she needs so she didn’t have to ask anyone else for help. However, I just am not able to do it on my own. Again, if you’re able, please help me to help HER. If you can’t donate, and I completely understand, please share this anywhere to get the word out.

Thank you so much for reading!! You can make a difference, and in life your generosity will be rewarded, I’m sure of it! 😊 ~Becky