Putting Financial Control Back In Eko’s Family’s Hands Looking back on the fateful day in June 2018 when her son was diagnosed with leukemia, Eko’s mom Naomi reflected on her shock and sadness about something so profound happening to her twoyear-old boy.
Eko’s cancer journey that they started to worry about money. This is where Donna Tookmanian, one of our pro-bono Certified Financial Planner™ professionals, stepped in. “Donna really helped alleviate a huge looming burden over our heads,” Naomi shared. “Instead of going month-to-month, she gave us a better idea of how to make smarter planning choices for the future.” Naomi and Donna talked through where to cut unnecessary payments and how to maximize the money they had coming in. From there, Donna was also able to help Eko’s family reduce certain bills, refinance their home, and determine which areas of their debt were most important to tackle first. “I hope to bring up things that families aren’t thinking about and be there whenever they’re ready,” Donna explained. Naomi further praised Donna for taking the stress out of the situation, and acting as a trustworthy, compassionate ally during Eko’s cancer journey. “It’s easy to let finances spin out of control when you’re trying to keep your child alive and everything feels out of your hands,” Naomi said. “We can’t control cancer, but working with Donna proved the financial side was something that we could control.”
Understandably, all of her attention immediately shifted to Eko’s safety and comfort, which included bringing him to treatment, ensuring the house was clean and disinfected, and making sure he was getting the proper nutrients in his diet. It wasn’t until they were further along in
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