"We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression." - Confucius
Losing a loved one can be one of the most difficult times of our lives. You feel
as if you've lost a part of yourself, a missing part of your soul that can never really be
filled. Stephen McNulty is sadly all too familiar with losing someone after his mom,
Patty, lost her fight to head and throat cancer; he was 9 years old when it happened.
This is when the next chapter in his life really began.
On the other side of Patty's battle with cancer was her oncology nurse Karen
Mott and her husband Michael Mott, the hospital's hospice deacon. Karen worked
with Patty on a daily basis, and noticed she was very reserved, never really talking
to anyone. That is except when Karen asked about her son Stephen, that's when
Patty would light up. As time passed Patty's condition grew progressively worse and
Karen and Michael began to think about how they would ask one of the hardest
things you could ask a mom:
What will happen to your child when you die?
At this point the Mott's we're a busy family, they had 3 children, all amazing
and all very active. This meant they we're keeping up with school, sports, and
everyday American family life. Adding another child so close to Michael's retirement
would be a huge undertaking both emotionally and financially but after many late
night talks, the Mott's made a family decision to adopt Stephen.
In the fall of 2012 Patty took her last breath shortly after her son said
goodbye and went off to school. Karen and Michael had to explain to Stephen that
his mother had died. They took him to a park and on that cloudy October day they
broke the news to him. Karen said she would never forget the sound of Stephen's
The first year of grieving was very challenging on the entire family.
Sometimes it takes unfathomable pain to help us grow into the person we were
meant to be. As time passed Stephen began to excel, especially in academics. He
received great grades, was accepted to a prestigious middle school and even began
his plan to become President one day!
None of this will be possible without a continued education and the financial
stability to pay for it. This is something the Mott family fears they won't be able to
provide as they near retirement. They fear a dream as big as Stephen's might never come true.
This is where YOU come in. In a partnership with LittleThings and GoFundMe
I searched out people who were in need of immediate help. People like the Mott
family who has sacrificed so much of themselves to help Stephen. So now it's your
turn, please watch the video BIG DREAMS: MOTT and help this family. I am
personally asking for your help to the Mott's Provide For Stephen.
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