The following was written hours before my mom passed on July 24th. Two days before my 36th birthday. Hello, my name is Jessica and I am fundraising for my mom Catherine Garza, the woman who not only gave me life, but gave knowledge, love, a shoulder to cry on, and what I thought would be many more years together… On June 5th my mother was diagnosed with Cancer. On June 18th my parents broke the news to my brother, Jonathan, and me. Throughout the month the Cancer, which had started in her Ovaries, had spread to her Liver, Pancreas, Chest and Esophagus. Now we are reconciling with the information that it is a rare form of Stage 4 Vaginal Cancer that has spread throughout her body and into her Bones and now her Brain. We are unsure of how much time she has left and a month has gone by so quickly, too quick for us to scrape together medical funds and too quick for us to truly process what is happening to our mother to begin to think of funeral cost. My mom was an active member in church; from serving with the youth groups to helping spread God's love during Sunday school. She would often volunteer to go on missionary trips and hosted fellowships at our house. Even though she didn't think she could hold a note she would always sing the Lord's praises loud and proud with the church choir. I know it's cliché; but she is my hero, and I know everyone probably says that about their mother, but she went above and beyond to make everyone around her happy even if she was in pain. If ever there was anyone needing a helping hand she would offer hers in any way she could. From opening up our home to displaced families and youth from our church to homeschooling her children as well as others from the neighborhood. Watching her lend her strength, love and support to others has been an inspiration and motivator for me throughout my life. No matter how bad the situation was, she always looked to the brighter side of life and reminded us that we are loved and valued. She would always ensure we had food on our plates, even if it had to come off of her own. I am so grateful for her strength, her love, and the way she could always put her emotions aside to truly listen to your worries, providing a mother's comfort and giving the best advice she could give. One of the things I'm most grateful for is her creativity. I am the artist I am today because she used to paint my clothes with my favorite cartoon characters. I remember when I was 11 I saw my mom draw a comic book-style version of X-Men’s Jean Grey. I fell in love with her ability to draw and to this day I can recall how happy it made me. From that day on I started setting up a chair and a desk in our driveway trying to draw the little mermaid with the same creative mind as my mom. My mom has always been a compassionate woman with a heart bigger than her wallet, and like most mothers; she always seemed to make ends meet. The dollar store was one of our favorite places because she would not only be able to shop for groceries and cleaning supplies, but she was always on the lookout for toys and goodies for us! To this day she still makes my brother, his family and me and my family baskets around Easter; even though we are all grown up we will always be her babies. It just hit me that this is the last year I would be receiving an Easter basket from my mom…
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