I know everybody and her cat’s uncle is asking you for money these days. I know that because they are asking me for money, too. And now here I come, asking for money–but it’s not for me.

Nearly thirty years ago, my husband and I ran a boutique public relations agency in Silicon Valley specializing in–what else?–high tech. We were a little different from other agencies. For one thing, we were intent on creating a corporate culture where people were encouraged to be creative and to grow. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, but we at least made the effort. And after we’d been in business a few years, we moved out of our partner’s garage and into legit office space.

That was when we hired Laura Wigod as office manager. Laura had long, thick, honey-blond hair and huge green eyes. She was incredibly smart, well-read, and creative. She used to put on the most elaborate birthday parties at work. I remember one that involved putting colored tissue paper and strips of black construction paper over the conference room windows to make it look like stained-glass windows. I think the theme was “Camelot.” Another time, we had a Middle Eastern belly dancer give us all lessons. Laura worked hard at her job, but it was clear she wanted and needed more from a job. Eventually, she became an art director and started doing work for our clients.

We had a kids’ room set up in the office so that if a child was mildly sick or if there was an inconvenient school holiday, the parent could bring their kid in for the day to watch TV, play video games, read, play with toys, etc. Our son Sean and Laura’s son David became best friends playing with each other in our office. They later drifted apart–but Laura and I have stayed in touch ever since. My life would be the poorer without her creativity, her interest in literature and art, her restless, bright mind.

And now Laura needs help. Her creative, intelligent, busy brain has betrayed her. Last weekend, Laura had a stroke that literally destroyed part of her brain. The doctors say she will recover as the rest of her brain compensates for the damage. But she won’t be able to work for months, she cant understand what most other people are saying to her, and she can’t read.

I have started a GoFundMe account to raise money to help Laura through this time that should be reserved for healing, and not for money anxieties. Even $5 would make a difference. I hope, despite all the demands on your pocketbook, that you will find some small amount to give to help Laura get back on her feet and back to work. The link to the GoFundMe account is https://www.gofundme.com/f/healing-laura039s-brain?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1