# Mom of 14 Grateful for Outpouring After Financial Crisis  
**Published:** 2026-05-10T20:58:31.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/10/mother-who-adopted-kids-with-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-grateful-for-financial-help/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/mom-of-14-grateful-for-outpouring-after-financial-crisis

A Nebraska woman who has devoted her life to caring for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is expressing deep gratitude after an outpouring of community support helped her family through a financial crisis caused by a divorce, a vehicle accident and mounting medical bills.

Nora Boesem, who has adopted 14 children and formerly fostered more than 200 from the [Pine Ridge Indian Reservation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation) in South Dakota, said she was moved to tears by the generosity of donors contributing to [a GoFundMe campaign](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-family-stay-together-through-crisis) organized by a colleague. As of May 9, the campaign had raised nearly $20,000, according to the [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/10/mother-who-adopted-kids-with-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-grateful-for-financial-help/).

"I am just honestly speechless," Boesem said in a recent interview. "It's really a blessing."

The funds will help address the family's most pressing needs: a $11,000 repair bill for the family vehicle, mortgage payments, and about $43,000 in medical bills. Many of Boesem's children require ongoing care for [fetal alcohol spectrum disorder](https://www.cdc.gov/fasd/index.html), a preventable group of conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure that [affects an estimated 1 to 5 percent of U.S. first-graders](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders).

Now living in Houston, Boesem moved to the city to access specialized medical care for her oldest adoptee, 24-year-old Dontae Standing Bear, who was hospitalized at the University of Texas Health Science Center for evaluation on potential brain implant surgery to address severe seizures. He was released May 5 after being evaluated since April 27 and is now home recovering.

[Whiteclay, Nebraska](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteclay,_Nebraska), a border town with the reservation, historically served as a major source of alcohol flowing to the dry Pine Ridge Reservation. [Four beer stores there sold millions of cans annually to reservation residents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteclay,_Nebraska) until [the stores were permanently shut down in 2017](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/02/new-book-details-the-fight-to-close-the-beer-stores-in-whiteclay/) following decades of activism highlighting the connection between alcohol sales and the epidemic of fetal alcohol syndrome affecting the reservation.

Boesem's advocacy has been instrumental in raising awareness about the issue. [Approximately one in four children born on the Pine Ridge Reservation has fetal alcohol syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation), a rate substantially higher than the national average. Many children in Boesem's care experience severe intellectual disabilities, seizures, and multiple physical malformations requiring extensive medical intervention.

The family's financial troubles have been compounded by the fact that Boesem's income is too high to qualify for some government assistance programs, and caregiver assistance payments have been cut back. Despite working as an online counselor and teaching at a local college, supporting 14 children with complex medical needs has exhausted the family's resources.

Boesem said the donations will allow her family to stabilize their finances and eventually relocate away from Houston, where she cited safety concerns including theft and violent crime in their neighborhood.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/10/mother-who-adopted-kids-with-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-grateful-for-financial-help/)
- [CDC - Information on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders](https://www.cdc.gov/fasd/index.html)
- [National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - FASD research and prevalence data](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders)
- [Wikipedia - Information about Whiteclay, Nebraska and the beer store closures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteclay,_Nebraska)
- [Nebraska Examiner - Coverage of the fight to close Whiteclay beer stores](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/02/new-book-details-the-fight-to-close-the-beer-stores-in-whiteclay/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/10/mother-who-adopted-kids-with-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-grateful-for-financial-help/.