HOUSTON – With Christmas just a week away, you’d think that Shayla Bankston and her brother Donald would be dreaming about the holiday, but instead they are blocking it out, focusing instead on their studies and school work.
They haven’t given a thought to Christmas and there’s a good reason why.
Their mother, Sherril Mackie, has told her two children there won’t be any Christmas this year.
“I mean, my kids are my heart. I mean, they are all I have and to not be able to do for them this holiday is heartbreaking,” Sherril said.
Sherril is a divorced mother and an-out-of-work day care employee who has suffered a horrific year.
First, Sherril learned that her 13-year-old son Donald has a rare immune disorder that could cause him to have a heart attack without warning.
Next, Sherril and her son were involved in a serious car accident with an 18-wheeler on I-10 and Sherril’s car was totaled.
To top things off, Sherril just spent a week in the hospital after being diagnosed with diverticulitis, a serious intestinal problem and the same condition that killed her father.
“I don’t want to die because I have two kids, two kids that I love and depend on me for everything," Sherril said.
Faced with not being able to give her children a Christmas this year, and without a single present under the family tree, Sherril wrote to Spencer Solves It.
And after reading through dozens of similar emails from our Channel 2 viewers, we decided to give Christmas back to Sherril and her family.
Now, with help from a member of Bill’s Brigade, employment rights attorney Joshua Verde, we are going to give Sherril $1,000 to buy whatever she wants for her family.
Verde presented her with two gift cards and Sherril was stunned.
“Wow. We appreciate this so much. Wow,” Sherril said while quickly grabbing her children and hugging them.
Now, despite all that’s happened around them, Sherril and her kids will have a real Christmas, complete with the gift of generosity and love.
If you need help with a problem you can’t possibly solve by yourself, contact Spencer Solves It at 713-223-TIPS or email us at solvesit@click2houston.com.