Help Literacy Hub

A story about asking for help

AUTHOR: Dr Susan Palmer

This is the story about an amazing woman who was one of the first users of Gather My Crew.

She was a sole parent to two young boys after her husband died from cancer 5 years earlier who now found herself facing her own cancer fight having been diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was understandably overwhelmed with fear at the thought of leaving her children orphaned – and her children were scared to let their mother out of the sight.

She had many gorgeous friends around her that had offered to help – but she had not taken them up on their offers and, as the impact of the chemotherapy began to take hold, she found herself unable to manage the everyday tasks of looking after her boys and running the household.

Understanding the situation, her breast care nurse provided her with information about Gather My Crew and this is where we see how powerful it is to reach out and ask for help.

This strong, resilient, powerful women tells the story of how she went to bed with her iPad one evening feeling completely overwhelmed. She set up her Gather My Crew account and listed all of the help she needed over the coming 8 weeks – meals for the boys, help with the laundry, transport for the kids to school and activities and a companion to come with her to chemotherapy treatments. In the morning, she woke to find that every single task she had listed had been accepted.

She had a full calendar of support from the people in her own network – and many were sending her messages requesting that she add more tasks so they could offer even more help. There were even friends who had missed out on accepting her request for help that were still available for support…

In the space of 12 hours, she went from feeling isolated, overwhelmed and alone to feeling completely supported.

This is the power of Gather My Crew. If you find the strength within yourself to ask for the help you need – we will be there to make it happen for you.

We’ve got your back.

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