I live in California, and for a long time, my life was built around two little heartbeats.
I had twins.
Two boys.
Two laughs.
Two tiny hands that used to grab my fingers at the same time.
When they were three years old, cancer came into our home without asking.
At first, the doctors used careful words. Then came harder words. Then came nights in the hospital, machines beeping, prayers whispered at 2 a.m., and hope that refused to die—even when my strength did.
One of my boys didn’t make it.
There is no sentence that prepares a mother for that.
No language strong enough to explain what it feels like to bury a child while the world keeps moving.
For a long time, I couldn’t breathe without pain. I woke up reaching for him. I still do sometimes. My surviving son would ask where his brother was, and I had to learn how to answer without breaking apart in front of him.
Grief changes you.
But love does too.
Somewhere in the middle of the pain, I realized something:
I couldn’t save my child—but maybe I could help someone else not feel so alone. That’s what God would want me to do. I must do more than praying.
I started listening to other mothers. Mothers sitting in hospital hallways. Mothers googling survival rates at night. Mothers pretending to be strong because their children were watching.
I wanted to help all of them.
But I learned something painful—I couldn’t reach everyone on my own.
That’s when I found an association that raises money for children with cancer in a way that felt right to my heart. They create and sell children’s eBooks—gentle stories, filled with love, hope, and values—and every purchase helps support children fighting cancer and the families standing beside them.
It’s a small action.
But small actions saved me when I was drowning.
If you’re reading this and wondering whether buying a simple children’s eBook can really matter—please know this: behind every effort is a mother like me, holding onto hope, trying to turn loss into love.
I couldn’t save my son.
But helping even one child… even one family…
helps me breathe again.
Thank you for listening to my story.
Please pray for all the children with cancer. It ain’t easy on them. In case you want to contribute in raising funds for them, use this link: https://bedtime-virtue-tales-shop.fourthwall.com/ . It’s UOC way to raise money for them.