10/21/2026
❤️ This Is One of the Hardest Posts I’ve Ever Had to Write. Please Hear My Heart. ❤️
Before I say anything else, I want you to know this:
This is NOT goodbye. This is NOT the end of Sammy’s Way Home. And this does NOT mean I’m done rescuing cats.
This is simply a break for now—a time when I need to step away, rest, recover, and take care of my health. I’ll be back, and I’ll update everyone as soon as I’m able. I just don’t know exactly when that will be.
I’ve started and stopped writing this post more times than I can count and I do hope you will read it all the way through. It’s something I’ve been trying to avoid for a very long time, but I’ve reached a point where I simply can’t avoid it anymore.
I need to step away from rescuing for a little while.
For those of you who know me, you know that this is not something that comes easily to me. In fact, it goes against just about every fiber of who I am. This is very uncomfortable for me.
I’m not someone who talks much about my health. I don’t like to dwell on it, and I’m certainly NOT sharing this for sympathy. But I feel like I owe my Sammy’s Way Home family an explanation, because you have all become such a special part of my life. I truly love you guys.
I’ve lived with multiple genetic and chronic health conditions, some since childhood. For nearly 50 years, I’ve learned how to push through things that most people never see. I am VERY good at acting like my body isn’t melting down, and even those closest to me wouldn’t know what’s going on inside.
Here is what I do NOT like dwelling on and even hate typing this out—I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), dysautonomia (a disorder of the autonomic nervous system), genetic immune system mutations, fibromyalgia, and CIRS, a complex inflammatory illness that developed after 12 years of exposure to extremely high levels of black mold and other toxic molds, and a super painful eye condition that nobody can figure out. There are more diagnoses, but I’m already tired of talking about it—this is NOT a pity party, quite the opposite. I literally hate making this post. It is SO not “me.”
But here’s the thing about me. I’ve spent most of my life refusing to let these things define me.
I’ve gotten REALLY good at pushing through. At functioning in survival mode. At getting up and doing what needs to be done regardless of how I “feel”.
Some might call that determination. Others might call it stubbornness. And truthfully, it’s probably a whole lot of both. ❤️
But even the most stubborn person eventually reaches a point where their body simply says, enough.
**For now, I will be pressing in to the Lord, resting in Him, and listening for His direction and next steps for Sammy’s Way Home. **🙏❤️
When Sammy went missing nearly a year ago, I poured everything I had into finding my boy. And somewhere along that journey, the Lord began opening doors for me to help other cats who were lost, abandoned, and forgotten.
That’s how Sammy’s Way Home was born.
And what an incredible, heartbreaking, beautiful journey it has been.
I generally DON’T listen to my body. I’m not sorry about it—I’d much rather keep pushing than sit on the sidelines of life and cry about how I “feel.”
I’ve tried to take breaks so many times over this past year. But then another call comes. Another desperate message. Another kitty who needs help. Another possible Sammy sighting.
And I just can’t seem to say no.
Because when I know there’s an animal out there suffering, and I know I might be able to do something about it, every part of me wants to get in my car and GO.
Even when I have absolutely nothing left to give.
This latest possible Sammy sighting at Walmart is a perfect example. I already knew before I went out there that I was well beyond my physical limits. But what if it was my boy? And when I discovered it wasn’t Sammy, there was still a frightened kitty who needed help.
So I kept going.
And going.
And going.
The truth is, my health has deteriorated to the point that I’m no longer physically able to do what I’ve been forcing myself to do. I’m at a point where I’m not even able to safely drive out to search for my own Sammy.
And that absolutely breaks my heart and I HAVE to be physically and mentally able to go to a lead for my own boy.
I’ve also been dealing with something going on with my lungs for the past three weeks, something I’ve continued pushing aside because there were rescues in progress, responsibilities to fulfill, and animals depending on me.
There’s always something. There’s always someone who needs help.
And I have finally had to face the fact that I cannot keep sacrificing my health to the point that I have nothing left.
So, with a very heavy heart, I need to ask my Sammy’s Way Home community for something that is incredibly difficult for me to ask.
🙏 Please give me some time to rest, recover, and take care of my health.
For now, that means I will need to step away from rescue calls, messages, comments, and even posting updates. I won’t be able to respond to requests for help during this time.
And because I know myself, I have to make that boundary firm. Because one message about one kitty in desperate need is all it takes for me to convince myself that I can push through just one more time.
Please know how deeply sorry I am to anyone who reaches out needing help and doesn’t hear back from me. That will never mean I don’t care. Quite the opposite. I care so much that I’ve struggled to recognize when I need to stop.
It simply means that, for this season, I need to allow myself to be the one who needs a little care.
I believe with all my heart that the Lord has a purpose for Sammy’s Way Home. And I trust that He isn’t finished with this story.
In the meantime, I want to encourage every single one of you to remember that rescue doesn’t begin or end with a rescue organization.
It begins with someone who sees a need and chooses to do something.
If you find a kitty who is lost, abandoned, injured, or desperately needing help, please don’t assume someone else will step in. You may be the very person God has placed there to make a difference.
You guys have shown me over and over again what incredible hearts you have. And I’m praying that, while I take this time away, more people in our community will find ways to step up and help these precious animals.
Because rescue is a group effort. It always has been.
To every person who has prayed, donated, fostered, transported, encouraged, shared a post, or simply loved me through this journey, thank you. From the very bottom of my heart.
I’m so incredibly honored and grateful that God has allowed me to be part of this work, and that He has brought all of you into my life.
I love you guys. Truly.
For now, I’m going to do something that doesn’t come naturally to me.
I’m going to stop. I’m going to rest. I’m going to pray. I’m going to press in to the Lord, listen for His voice, and trust Him to show me the next steps for Sammy’s Way Home. And I’m going to trust Him with the things I cannot do right now.
Because even when I have to step away, I know He never does. ❤️
