Dana O'Gorman's Fundraiser
Sharing Love for Mothers & Caregivers of Children with Disabilities
Caring for the Caregivers
Angela Campbell
I donated in support of this campaign.
$25
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Rhonda Luker
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$25
A supporter of Dana O'Gorman
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$25
A supporter of Dana O'Gorman
I donated in support of this campaign.
$20
The Young Learners Group/The Learning Lane
"The Young Learners Group/The Learning Lane"
A supporter of Dana O'Gorman
I donated in support of this campaign.
A supporter of Dana O'Gorman
I donated in support of this campaign.
$25
In 2023, I laid flat, face-down on the sofa in the middle of the day with absolute exhaustion. I told my daughter’s home health nurse that I needed 15 minutes and I wasn’t going to answer any calls. My phone rang, I picked it up anyway just to make sure it wasn’t one of my daughter’s multiple care teams.
My daughter was born with a rare genetic chromosome disorder and one severe heart defect that causes her to live with a terminal illness. By the age of three years old, we’d lived inpatient half her life. The frequent hospitalizations also meant more time away from my oldest son, who was a toddler at the time. Because he was frequently in the care of family while I cared for my daughter, I missed out on some of his milestones too.
In the midst of these recurring medical trials, we had to relocate 5 hours away from our hometown due to my husband’s career. We lost sense of stability, felt immense grief, and lost the support of our hometown family and friends being nearby.
Our daughter lived at home with a central line that went straight to her heart so we avoided the public as much as possible to reduce risk of infection. We lived in isolation durning cold and flu season, knowing a certain flu strain could land her on a hospital ventilator. I had put up barriers in what I thought at the time, was to be strong to keep going. Mentally, I was drained. Physically, unhealthy. Emotionally, burned out. Put simply, I was only living in survival mode.
When I answered that phone call, on the other end of the line, I heard, “you won!” from one of the leaders from Labeled and Loved Organization. I was gifted a 4 day Retreat in Colorado Springs. Several weeks prior, I stumbled across a Facebook page for local Houston special needs moms and caregivers. Labeled and Loved, a nonprofit organization puts together an incredible annual national weekend of HOPE filled with professional speakers who taught me to how grieve, heal, empower and inspire. While being surrounded with community who can say, we get it! After attending Colorado Springs retreat, I left with whole new perspective and how to prioritize myself to become a better caregiver to our disabled daughter and mother to both my children. I found support, community, hope, and most importantly, myself.
Labeled and Loved hosts monthly local events across the country, and virtual groups with trained leaders. They are creating a safe space with educational curriculum to help prevent caregiver burnout while building friendships with other moms and caregivers with disabled children.
I created this fundraiser to humbly ask you to help Labeled and Loved help families like mine. At the Labeled and Loved event, every moment is carefully curated to empower moms like me while recharging, having fun, finding community, providing resources to return home with equipped tools to be the best mom and caregiver for our disabled children.
With your donation, no matter how big or small, you can help a mother like myself answer the call and change a caregiver’s life!
This is me. This is us!
Dana O’Gorman
Labeled and Loved: North Houston Event Coordinator
Contact Email: dana.ogorman1@gmail.com