LifeFunders for Month: November 2021

Help Pablo’s family buy a home after rental ordeal

UPDATE (12/8/2021): CAMPAIGN CLOSED

Dear friends, 

We want to thank everyone for their extreme generosity! We have decided to get some temporary rental in order to slow down the buying process, and thus find the right forever home, as we wait for the legal process to take place. Because of this fundraiser, we have had countless people reach out and help us in many different ways, thank you so much for all of your gifts, more importantly in prayers!!
May God bless you today and always!
Pablo
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Please pray for us as we have been out of our home for over 3 weeks so far. 
We rent from a property management company and had been complaining about a leak in our laundry for over 18 months. They never took us seriously, always coming in and putting a band-aid on the problem,  and about a month ago, the laundry ceiling fell. They found mold and rotted wood there and in all 3 bathrooms. 
The renovations have been a disaster and we have spent $15K in AirBnbs so far with all of December to go. Unfortunately, we have had to hire a lawyer. The mold remediation was done, but the build back has taken weeks to be scheduled. What was supposed to be a 10 day project has no end in sight. When we told them I hired a lawyer, they gave us a 30-day notice to vacate. To add insult to injury, as all toilets have been removed and the house vacant for so long, it stinks of sewer, which has permeated everything–furniture, clothing, etc. 
We are not surprised, to be honest. For the last 8 years, every time we had a child, our housing issue has become worse and worse. We have been discriminated against because we have too many children. People have laughed on the phone when we inquired about a rental and said we had 5, then 6, then 7 children. God makes miracles through people, but the devil tortures you through people as well. 
Financially, we are in a position to buy since we are approved for a mortgage, and although a big chunk of our down payment has been used for this ordeal, we would love to find the right home. Unfortunately, we have been priced out of the market. 
What we could have bought 18 months ago is now somewhere between $100 to $150K more expensive. We would love to own our home and never worry about a landlord or property management company again. 
 

Help Lauren defeat Creighton U’s vaccine mandate

Lauren Borcyk (Ramaekers) was administratively unenrolled from Creighton University on September 7th for declining to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. She declined the vaccine due to medical and religious exemptions, both of which were rejected by the university. Lauren conscientiously objects to the vaccine because of her strongly held religious beliefs which include her disapproval of abortion and any act that takes advantage of abortion. These vaccines have used fetal cells derived from abortion in their research, development, and/or testing which is unconscionable to Lauren and a great number of other Americans.
 
 
As a result, Lauren will not be able to finish the last three classes she needs to earn her undergraduate degree at Creighton. She was scheduled to graduate in December 2021 with a degree in Psychology and Spanish. Unfortunately Creighton has done much more than simply unenroll Lauren. Creighton has retaliated against Lauren and other students who have declined the vaccination by prohibiting them from stepping foot on campus for any purpose, including attendance at Mass, attending events such as public talks and sporting events, or even visiting friends. Creighton does not prohibit other unvaccinated people from being on campus, just the students who declined to be vaccinated.
 
 
Lauren was the president of Creighton Students for Life on Creighton’s campus at the time of her unenrollment. This club educates other students on the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person, works to make the campus a friendly campus for parenting students, and brings a large number of people to the March for Life each year . 
 
Lauren strives to live her faith each day and finds it abhorrent that a Catholic institution has forced Lauren and other students into a situation where they must decide between their education, their career and their deeply held religious beliefs. 
 
Lauren’s unenrollment from Creighton left the students for life club in disarray as the students who remain have had to take over her responsibilities in leading the group as well as their own positions. 
 
Lauren needs your support. Creighton unenrolled her after the date set which allows her to receive a full refund on her fall tuition.   Creighton continues to demand that Lauren pay the remaining tuition, even though it was Creighton’s choice to unenroll her. Unfortunately, there is more. Creighton now refuses to release Lauren’s transcripts. This prevents Lauren from pursuing her education somewhere else. As a result, Lauren’s education and her career is being prevented by a powerful Catholic university. Her well-deserved scholarships at Creighton were taken away and she was left with no education after her years of commitment and work.
 
Not only has Lauren been denied the ability to graduate in December 2021, she has found that she would have to start as a transferred sophomore at any other institution she has contacted. This would require her to incur a large amount of expense to take or retake additional credit hours at the new educational institution. 
 
With the potential loss of her undergraduate education, she is also unable to attend graduate schooling for counseling as she hoped to work as a marriage and family counselor at a pregnancy resource center in the future. 
 
This lawsuit first began in conjunction with several other Creighton Students who were unenrolled much like her. That lawsuit has been appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to that ongoing effort.  While that original lawsuit progresses, she and many others are in the process of filing individual lawsuits against Creighton for both damages and to finish her education. 
 
Her attorney, Robert Sullivan, has represented Lauren since she was unenrolled. However, the cost of the lawsuit comes at a great price. 
 
This LifeFunder is to be used for any litigation fees she will need to pay her hard-working attorney throughout the process. Excess funds will be contributed to Omaha’s Essential Pregnancy Center.

Help Dr. Mary O’Connor defeat College of Physicians

Dr. Mary O’Connor has become the target of legal action by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) after refusing to cooperate with an investigation into why she allegedly gave medical exemptions for the experimental COVID shots.
Dr. Mary O’Connor, along with Dr. Mark Trozzi, Dr. Rochangé Kilian, and Dr. Celeste Jean Thirlwell, became the subjects of a legal filing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario at the beginning of November after they refused to hand over confidential patient information pursuant to an “investigation” by the college into why they granted medical exemptions to patients for the experimental COVID-19 vaccines. The college is asking the Ontario Superior Court to mandate their compliance.
According to the college’s filing against O’Connor, the investigation concerns “her conduct in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and her completion of medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccinations and diagnostic testing.”
Instead of releasing the records, the college contends that O’Connor insisted they must first “define COVID-19″ and that she “will not be able to move forward without the College’s precise definition of COVID-19.”
The college also says that O’Connor requested them to “advise if [the college] knows the ingredients of the gene therapy experiments, the so-called vaccinations, being administered to humanity without informed consent.”
The filing in Superior Court, which seeks to mandate that the doctors provide medical charts, patient information, and even allow investigators entry into their offices to copy or remove “necessary documents,” is set to be heard in January.
O’Connor’s lawyer, Michael Swinwood, said she will fight the case in court. “I don’t see the need for an investigation,” the attorney said. “There is no malpractice or incompetence involved.”

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the college has taken issue not only with the writing of medical exemptions but the general conduct of the doctors, specifically mentioning O’Connor’s use of the term “gene-therapy experiments” as opposed to calling the injections “vaccinations.”
The Hearing in Ontario Superior Court took place on January 7, 2022.
The Judge ruled that Dr. O’Connor must give the names and hand over the charts of all the patients she had written exemptions for.
Dr O’Connor refused, and thus was in contempt of court.
The Court Hearing date for the Contempt charge was February 6, 2023.
The College cancelled the Court Hearing on February 4.
On February 9, 2023 the College Tribunal Notice of Hearing re: allegations of professional misconduct was also dropped.

Please support Dr. O’Connor in her brave stand for patients’ rights. All money raised will go towards paying her significant legal fees.

Tootsie Roll Drive for intellectually disabled

The Knights Of Columbus will hold a Tootsie Roll Drive for intellectually disabled people in Naperville, Illinois.

Here are some of the charities that receive donations from our council; Saint Hubert Gift Program Saint Matthew Gift Program Church of the Holy Spirit Religious Education Elite Stars Foundation (elitestars.org) Gigi’s Playhbouse (gigisplayhouse.org) The Kid’s Equipment Network (tken.org) Special Camps For Special Citizens (specialcamps.org) Ups For Downs (www.upsfordowns.org) Misericordia (www.misericordia.com) Clearbrook Center (www.clearbrook.org) Center For Enriched Living (www.centerforenrichedliving.org)

Help Elon’s family cover expensive surgery & care

Elon Marler, 3 years old, has Dravet Syndrome, a rare severe form of epilepsy and will be having a second brain surgery in the hopes that we can control his seizures.


Isabella Marler writes: My son Elon Marler has a very severe seizure disorder called Dravet syndrome. His first seizure happened when he was 8 months old. It lasted an hour and 45 minutes and we have been battling the seizures since. 

He has on average over 100 seizures a day. If playing he can have 100 in an hour. He had his first brain surgery on September 28th 2021 and unfortunately it did not work. 

The name of the surgery is a corpus callosotomy, sit brain surgery. The first surgery consisted of splitting his brain 2/3 of the way to see if that was enough to slow down the seizures. 

During the second surgery they will completely sever the left and right side. Side affects include, 6 weeks or more of atonic mutism, he will be unable to move or talk. 

He has a greater risk of never being able to talk again, stuttering, losing control of a limb, and a risk of infection, death and more. He will also be having a vagus nerve stimulater placed in his chest up his neck to his brain which will send a burst of electricity to his brain to help control seizures as well. 

Our family has been through so much the last few years. We have lost our home twice and struggle to make ends meet constantly over the years due to numerous doctors appointments and losing our jobs due to the around the clock care Elon requires. 

Due to Covid, our 1 year old daughter, is unable to attend appointments meaning someone also has to stay home with her. My husband recently lost his job due to Elons appointments and the surgery and I currently work for Instacart on my own schedule so that I can take him to all of his appointments and therapies. 

Anything donated will help our family survive as we go through a second surgery. Our family will have no income at least 6 weeks during the surgery. 

It will also help cover the medical bills that we will accrue after the surgery. 

Elon is such an amazing person and so strong. He never gives up no matter how many times he falls and has seizures. He loves to play with his sister, and loves Blippi. 

He loves to give kisses and loves to count. We ask anyone who reads this to please pray for Elon, our family, his surgeon, doctors, anyone else included in this surgery. 

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

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Aubrey’s Therapy Device



Hello friends and family,

We are very excited to tell you about a therapy device that we are raising money for. Many of you know that Aubrey was born at 24 weeks and shortly after birth, experienced grade 4, bilateral intraventricular hemorrhaging in her brain caused by her extreme prematurity. Because of this, she now has cerebral palsy which affects her muscles, coordination, balance, and movement. As a special needs parent, I am constantly researching outside of typical therapy modalities to give Aubrey the best opportunity to live her life to the fullest. Through this research I discovered a therapy device called a vibration plate. This plate is used for vibration platform therapy. It’s a device that is designed for in-home use and will allow us to work alongside her physical therapist to give direction and instructions for additional exercises as she progresses. The company, StimDesigns, has created the Galileo platform and all the necessary training. They have also published studies showing the amazing benefit for children and adults with cerebral palsy, as well as many other neuromuscular disorders. This is why I like the company so much. It’s also important that we start this new therapy as soon as possible due to Aubrey’s age because of the growth and closure of certain bones. Starting now will give her the best chance at walking one day! Aubrey is such a bright light and a joy to many people, and I know that God has amazing plans for her.

We have already secured $3,400 of the $6,500 that we need for this device. If you want to mail a check instead of giving online, please just send me a private message.

Galileo’s mechano-stimulation is unlike any other neuromuscular and neural communication tool.  It involves the use of a mechanical stimulus to excite the nervous system making training more effective.  Galileo’s activity-based, high-repetition training will improve motor learning through both “voluntary” pathways and “involuntary” reflex-based pathways using three frequency ranges.  Depending on the frequency range the muscles and body responds in different ways.  Frequency ranges are not arbitrary but are determined as a result of muscle physiology.


Training is fast, simple and efficient by recruiting the sensory and motor systems putting small and large antagonistic muscle groups through thousands of reflexive muscle contractions.  A training session of 3 minutes at 25 Hz provides 4500 muscle contractions similar to walking a distance of 4,500 steps.  No other training tool can provide this much neuromuscular stimulation in such a short time.
Galileo can be easily combined with activity-based exercises like sit-to-stand, squats, catching or kicking a ball and, other tasks. This intervention is working on the impairment level of the neuromuscular system but at the same time also on the activity level providing improved outcomes like: 1) better balance, 2) longer walking distance, 3) higher walking speed, 4) better sit-to-stand, 5) increased range of motion and, 6) improved muscle power.  Other enhanced outcomes are 1) reduced tone and spasticity, 2) refined movement patterns, 3) improved microcirculation, 4) increased blood flow and lymphatic system, 5) higher bone mass and osteoporosis prevention, 6) reduced contractures and, very little cardio effect.

African bishop wants training college for poor

Bishop Nestor hopes people in his diocese can rebuild their war-torn lives by training them in practical skills so they can provide for their families. 

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Bishop Nestor Nongo has long faced persecution and suffering for heroically shepherding the people of his diocese in the Central African Republic, one of the ten poorest countries in the world. 

He was lucky to escape death when he and three priests were kidnapped by militants in 2014, only being spared because one Muslim commander pleaded for his life before they were due to be executed in Chad. 
He has protected tens of thousands of refugees at the diocesan cathedral in Bossangoa since the war broke out in 2012. 

Thousands of innocent people have been killed in the Diocese of Bossangoa alone in a war that seems to have no end.
Relief efforts are ongoing, but Bishop Nestor now hopes he can let people rebuild their lives by training them in practical skills that will allow them to provide for their families. 
By giving the poorest of the poor skills in carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and mechanics through a technical training college, the bishop can set them up for a better life where they don’t have to depend on the charity of others to survive, and where local industry can finally be developed to bring a more secure future to the region. 
The technical training college will cost €140,000 to construct and furnish with the necessary equipment. 
The Catholic Association in Ireland have kindly agreed to collect the funds on behalf of Bishop Nestor, as payment processor Stripe does not operate in the Central African Republic. 
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