Houston, TX (PRWEB) April 08, 2014 -- Kum Ja is now 74 years old, but has endured more hurdles and tragedy than many of us could ever imagine.
Abandoned as a baby and left with her abusive aunt and uncle, she watched as her village was invaded by strange and hostile soldiers, knowing little about the political hostilities of their northern neighbors she soon found out that the infamous Korean War of 1950 had begun.
It became apparent to her family members that it would be more profitable to sell her to a group of rogue Japanese soldiers that collected Korean female children for many uses, of which many are too graphic to go into detail. For many years, she was held against her will as a slave, only dreaming of freedom and chance at a real life.
Many years later, after the Korean War ended, she took action to make her dreams and wishes come true. She moved to America to raise her two children by herself with very little money, but motivated by the promise of America’s freedom and open arms to refugees of war to start anew.
Kum Ja’s dream seemed to be flying high when she saved enough money to earn her barber’s license and start her very own shop.
It would be many years before her next unimaginable tragedy would occur, a nightmare that far exceeded her slavery as a child.
On January 12th, Son Hui, her eldest child and only daughter suffered such a harsh seizure, that she fell into a coma. For two weeks, Kum Ja and Son Hui’s daughter, Cassandra had to listen to doctors tell them that her brain activity was dead, and that she would never wake.
After two long, excruciating weeks, on January 26th, 2008 that life support was finally terminated, and Son Hui was pronounced dead. In Kum Ja’s own words, “Take me instead,” that she would have gladly taken her daughter’s place, even after her own horrific childhood.
Time would not let Son Hui’s family grieve, as in the same year, Kum Ja’s granddaughter was diagnosed with the same hereditary disease that her own daughter had passed from only months before. To add insult to injury, Kum Ja found that she, herself had cervical cancer.
Her string of ongoing tragedies had bled every dollar from Kum Ja’s savings, and she has been unable to work on a consistent basis, often leaving medial purchases such as groceries and necessary monthly bills to loans from her friends or from the little family she has left.
Indiegogo is now running a campaign named A Korean War Survivor Still Battles Cancer and Loss, led by her granddaughter and her granddaughter’s family to raise money for Kum Ja’s continued medical treatment. Her cancer has reappeared two more times and Kum Ja is nearing her third round of treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries.
The campaign will also use its raised funds to help Kum Ja pay off a portion of her medical and mortgage debt, and to help seek other methods to keep her cancer in remission.
Cassandra, her granddaughter is also trying to help Kum Ja move to Houston, Texas to be closer to her and to one of the best medical treatment facilities in America.
It’s apparent that Kum Ja has suffered more than many of us could ever imagine, as many of us have never seen the traumas of war, let alone through a child’s eyes.
We urge anyone who is able to spread the word about their Indiegogo campaign to tell as many people as they can, as they need support to help Kum Ja reclaim her life from cancer once and for all, and to attempt to let her heal from her string of unfortunate fate.
Please visit: http://igg.me/at/help-my-grandmother/x/3489184.
Cassandra Wolff, http://igg.me/at/help-my-grandmother/x/3489184, +1 713-205-1292, [email protected]
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