DETROIT — A family of 11 children is tasked with the unimaginable need to move forward.
Their mother, Rashida Lawson, died Saturday, April 13, after a battle with stage four breast cancer, WJBK-TV reports. She was 44 years old.
The children range in age from 4 years old to 23, and it's now up to the older children to help provide care for the little ones.
"We can't tell them, 'Hey guys it's going to be okay, she's coming home,'" Tamera Stone told the TV station. "And I have to be honest with them."
She added Lawson was the "glue that held us together." The family's father died 10 years ago.
Stone said she pled with her mother to get to the hospital for a checkup after it appeared her chest was leaking.
"She thought it was milk and stuff. We were like, 'Ma, you've got to go get this checked out, this is very serious,'" Stone told WJBK. Doctors came back with the cancer news not long thereafter.
Her heart would stop about a week later.
They started a GoFundMe campaign, asking for help with Lawson's burial and other costs to support the family. As of Monday afternoon, it has raised more than $90,000.
What other people are reading right now:
- MMA fighter fights off man allegedly caught masturbating near her swimsuit photoshoot
- VIDEO: Dollar General worker dragged 20 feet by shoplifters' car, police say
- Florida dad chases down and shoots man who stole car with young son inside, deputies say
- Woman accused of throwing 7 newborn puppies into a dumpster
- This robot could make pesticides obsolete
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.