After facing serious health complications and fighting to provide for her son, Laura felt completely alone. But through the support of mentors and a caring community, she found something every parent deserves: hope, encouragement, and people willing to walk alongside her.
Today, Laura and her son are thriving in a new season filled with stability, support, and connection — a reminder of what’s possible when communities come together for families before crisis happens.
Transcript:
I felt so alone. I didn’t feel like I had people to lean on or care. I quickly realized that that was the opposite of true.
My name is Laura Dailey. I am a full-time mom. My son and I live in Florida, and we recently moved back here this year after I had some health complications. I had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. While I was recovering from having my surgery, I obviously had to sell my car to be able to keep a roof over our head, to provide support for myself and my son while I was looking for a job.
A two hour walk for me when I’m not supposed to be exercising more than 30 minutes a day, that was a real challenge and a real struggle. My son comes first, and he’s a priority, and so I needed to make sure that he was going to school and getting an education. But I also realized that I had physical limitations. I was not healing well. My body was kind of shutting down. I was having a really hard time making that walk, and I knew that there had to be a change.
For me, I knew that it was integral that I connected with a support system to get myself and my son to a better place in life, understanding that it takes a village when it comes to children, and you know, he needs a parent that is at their healthiest mentally and physically. Just being able to call my mentor and, you know, just connect with them and have that person on the other end of the line who always picks up and they’re always there. And even if it’s just five minutes and I need to vent, I feel so much better. And then, of course, having you know my mentor be able to pour into my life and say, hey, you know, here are some job resources, here’s some volunteer opportunities. Here are some things that you can do with your son.
For me, my journey is healing. I needed that to heal. I needed a mentor to kind of help me navigate these next steps and show me, you know, this is what your life can look like. You know, your life still has purpose, even after these really devastating, challenging times.
There’s so many things that were constantly, always in the back of my mind, not having a vehicle, and so now that we have one, it’s like I’m a new person. This weight has just been lifted off my shoulder.
My son and I are now in just a phenomenal place in our life. We have support. We’ve been able to just really grow and flourish in this new season of life. We have resources, we’ve got a network of people, and we’re just doing really great now that we’re we’re here and connected.
It gives me hope that I have certainty every day when I wake up knowing that I have this team of people behind me to support me in a challenging time in our life. It makes me feel comfort and love, and I’m just so grateful. I felt so alone, I mean, just incredibly alone, and I didn’t feel like I had people to lean on or care. And I quickly realized that that was the opposite of true.
