When A Friend Hits a Wall

This blog is called adversity & diversity. I've written about that subject over and over. There are times those words can be so close I don't even recognize them. Over ten years ago, I started a new job at Bloomfield College where my assistant Traci had already been working. I've shared the story about her telling me she didn't want to like me at first, but we hit it off and became friends bonded by creativity. I admired her tenacity of being a single mom, raising a son, and returning to college in her late 30s to get her degree. I even wrote a letter about her to Oprah (something I don't think I ever told her) about someone who sees a challenge and tackles it. (PS: Oprah didn't respond.)
Traci always seemed to be hit with many adverse situations, but would see them head on and figure out how to make them work for her and her son. Her Corporate America job was downsized, she started working at the college, and made lemonade from her lemons. She was part of my life changes blog entries back in 2011. She and I would collaborate on projects, be sounding boards for each other's creative endeavors, and she assist directed on the short film MOTHER that I directed.
When I left that job three years ago, we stayed in contact as she made another large life change and she and her son left New Jersey for a new life in Colorado this past fall. Traci has been back in the creative world again where she works, but everything came crashing down this past fall. They lost the home they were living in and Traci got an infection that medicine can't help and today she was told she will be losing her foot. 
This news changes everything. For the person who has always put a positive spin on things in the past, this one is a much harder pill to swallow. She and her son already were in need of a new home, but now it's even more dire. Once out of rehab her life is going to be even more difficult. 
There was a GoFundMe set up in May, but now it's more imperative they raise funds to assist her once she's out of the hospital. If you can give, that is awesome. If you can spread the word, that's great too. 
We see folks in need all the time - many times at a distance on TV or the news. When it's a friend that's in need...you want to do whatever you can to give them a chance to get back on their feet. As I typed that last sentence, it hit me again that I simply can't comprehend what Traci will go through with the removal of her foot. But I do know she has it in her to pick herself back up. Sometimes we just need help.