Just arrived in Royal Oak, Michigan. Here's an update on the gofundme. Just posting it here in case it's hard to access with the link. Much love. E.
Royal Oak, MI
December 17, 2025
To all my dear friends, supporters and loved ones here,
Have arrived in Royal Oak, Michigan tonight, my Mom’s hometown, and am planning to go to mediation tomorrow morning at 10 AM in Birmingham, Michigan.
I’ve been so moved to have been getting messages this evening from so many of you of love, support, encouragement, fortitude, all of it. I truly cannot express how grateful I am to each and every one of you, and to have finally publicly shared the horror I’ve been dealing with from this aggressive lawsuit, in addition to the overwheming grief at losing my Mom so violently, and trying to settle her estate while doing my best to honor her wishes and her memory.
The fact that your contributions have so obliterated our $9,000 goal is deeply moving to me. I honestly don’t know what to say. And to Nancy Padilla, who started this fund, again, I just want to thank you for your loving care and generosity in stepping in from the heart and creating this resource for me.
I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I look forward to a day very soon when I can again love and kiss and romp with Isabelle once we come to a fair agreement on her custody and welfare, which is what I absolutely know my Mom would have wanted.
You all are beyond amazing. No matter what happens over the coming days—and I will report back, to the degree that I am legally able to do so—please know how incredibly grateful I am for the support every single one of you has offered me during this dark time. You loving care has been so powerful for me, it has lifted me up.
More soon, and with so much love,
❤️
Elana
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