Bad things seem to happen all at once, and Erika Taylor experienced such a wave of negative occurrences in January.
Taylor was admitted to Erlanger Hospital the same day her then-2-year-old daughter, Winslow, was admitted to Children's Hospital.
Winslow had been sick for about 15 days and had already taken one round of antibiotics, and Taylor sought a second opinion because Winslow still wasn't improving.
"It was just not going away," said Taylor, who was so focused on her daughter that she initially ignored that she wasn't feeling well herself.
She took Winslow to Children's Hospital at Erlanger, where she was diagnosed with human metapneumovirus, a virus in the same family as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, that causes respiratory infections.
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Once she finally knew what was wrong with her daughter, Taylor went next door to Erlanger's emergency department to have her own persistent, painful cough checked out while her daughter stayed in the hospital overnight.
A doctor diagnosed Taylor with bacterial pneumonia, she said.
"It was really rough," said Taylor, who requested to be released from the hospital to be with her daughter. "We were both really sick, but we got through it. It was exhausting, to say the least."
Her husband Desmond Taylor took a week off from his job at Walmart to help his wife and daughter through their illnesses.
Desmond Taylor was the family's sole earner at the time, since Erika Taylor was staying home with Winslow.
"He ended up working quite a bit of overtime to make up for all the lost wages," Erika Taylor said. "With us being a one-income household, it was really tough for us. Just missing a couple hours of work was detrimental because we were living paycheck to paycheck."
Her sister, who had been living with the Taylors and paying half the bills, moved out at about the same time she and her daughter got sick.
The Taylors requested help from the Neediest Cases Fund through the United Way of Rhea County to pay their electric bill and received about $530. That took care of the amount that was overdue along with the following month's electric bill, which was more expensive than usual since they were using the electricity to heat their home in the middle of winter.
(READ MORE: Dayton, Tennessee, caregiver and mother get relief from Neediest Cases Fund)
"It was a major help," she said of the funds from Neediest Cases, which provides one-time grants to people who find themselves in need through no fault of their own.
"I remember being so excited when we got the call that it was approved," Erika Taylor said of her request from Neediest Cases. "I just thought, 'Praise God,' because there was so much going on, and we just couldn't seem to get our footing."
Since then, they moved out of the house they were renting into a less expensive apartment and they have paid all their bills without assistance.
Winslow is now in preschool for part of the day, and Erika Taylor spends that time earning money by delivering groceries through Instacart or takeout food from restaurants through DoorDash, she said.
"Just being able to contribute financially has really helped us out a lot," Erika Taylor said.
The Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund was started in 1914 by Adolph Ochs, then the publisher of the Chattanooga Times. The Fund receives donations from Times Free Press readers. Money is administered and distributed to individuals and families in need by the United Way of Greater Chattanooga and partner agencies. Recipients must be working or on a fixed income and be able to demonstrate ongoing stability and self-sufficiency after receiving Neediest Cases funds.
The Neediest Cases Fund took in $81,000 last year that was distributed by United Way of Greater Chattanooga and its partner agencies to 79 adults and 61 children in 54 households, according to United Way figures.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508. Follow her on Twitter @emcrisman.