Kris
On this first day of Pride Month, we are sharing the story of how you helped keep Kris’s family afloat after her heart-wrenching recurrence of cancer.
Motivated by her passion for helping others, Kris worked as an EMT on the frontlines. During the first several months of the pandemic, she transported countless patients in distress, many of whom likely had COVID-19. EMTs have an exceptionally high exposure risk to COVID-19 because they provide CPR and respiratory assistance while in the ambulance. Kris was often the first point of contact for these patients, providing critical, life-saving care.
She continued to show up.
That is, until her world was turned upside down after her doctors delivered the news: Her cancer was back.
Kris was forced to leave her beloved job. She and her family, including her fiancée, Becky, and ten-year-old daughter, Madison, went from getting by on two incomes to stretching one. Facing several rounds of chemotherapy, as well as an invasive bone marrow transplant, Kris needed to focus on her treatment—not on bills.
She had applied for disability benefits through social security, but the process could take up to five months. Even if she were to be approved, the need for financial support would persist even after her treatment ended. Kris wouldn’t be able to work for a year after her transplant, as being on the frontlines would put her health at too great of a risk.
This precious family needed somewhere to turn. Kris’s fiancée, Becky, wrote to us here at Together Rising. She’d already raised some of the funds needed on her own—and was requesting our help in closing the gap.
All of us, through Together Rising, stepped into that gap for them. We showed up for Kris, Becky, and Madison with fervor, dedication, and love—the same way Kris continued to show up for her patients prior to her recurrence.
Our Together Rising community always has and always will support LGBTQIA2S+ families and individuals. We will continue to step into gaps for families like Kris and Becky’s.
Because We Belong to Each Other.