Hello everyone. 

My name is Ben Harroun and I have decided to make this as an option for the large number of supporters that have followed me and my wife's journey with her health issues over the past 3 months. My beautiful wife, Nora Garcia Harroun, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 35 on July 3rd 2025 from complications of open heart surgery. After a 6 week battle filled with simple wins, big set backs and nearly daily progress, we were all taken by surprise when she passed away early Thursday July 3rd as her heart gave out. She died peacefully surrounded by her dearest family holding my hand and we had the chance to say goodbye to the strongest and most compassionate woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. While Nora was a simple person who loved spending time with family, friends and our fur babies at home, she also loved the drive-in. She loved interacting with people, seeing the kids laughing, the couples falling in love and families coming together to make memories. She often said she would love to work exclusively at the drive-in if she didn't have to keep her fulltime job to have health insurance for us and the drive-in could pay the same wage.

While we've been public about the medical struggles Nora faced after going in for open heart surgery in May, she had actually been fighting many issues for over a year. She had both the autoimmune disorder Vasculitis that had been attacking her kidneys but also a very rare disorder called Cold Agglutinins as a byproduct of the Vasculitis. Unfortunately, both of these complications contributed to her recovery issues post surgery and ultimately her death in the end.

I am not a person that likes to ask for help, and honestly I avoid it if possible. I was raised to work hard and if I wanted something, to make it work by paying for it myself. I've lived by this philosophy my whole life, so this is hard for me. Nora was the one who covered our health insurance through her employer, and I will be losing that coverage now that she has passed away. Nora was born with a bicuspid heart valve, so she was not able to take advantage of any traditional life insurance policies. We both lived a simple life in a small house and contributed to our bills as a normal young family. In 2021, I made the decision to partner with my brother to take over the operation and ownership of the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in and all the associated expenses and struggles that come with being a self-employed small business owner. I pour myself, time and funds into the business, and with the exception of a couple really good years, the drive-in is not a big money making operation. With the large funeral bill, upcoming tide of medical bills from the 47 days in the hospital with hundreds of doctors, specialists, meds and ICU stays still coming, and the fact that I have to find a new health insurance plan on top of dealing with the loss of my best friend and life partner is overwhelming. From the start, I have avoided asking for help, even as the expenses of driving hours daily and associated costs kept adding up. I did it all to support Nora, her recovery and everything I could to get her back home no matter what it cost. Now that she has passed and it is starting to sink in how much this ordeal will cost me aside from losing the love of my life, I am asking for a little help from anyone that is willing to do so.

After the tremendous outpouring of support, prayers and now condolences, I thought I would offer one last option for our supporters that cannot make Nora's memorial in person, an option to support our family and help me fulfill her wishes. I am not asking for a handout and don't want anyone to feel a need to donate, but I do want to have a cushion for the financial storm that I am sure will arrive in the coming months as I continue to morn my wife. I will apply any donations to the immediate need to pay for the funeral arrangements, the medical bills as they begin to arrive and help me navigate finding a new health insurance plan. If my fears are unfounded and our insurance covered the majority of the medical expenses, I will donate all of the remaining contributions to the animal rescues that Nora loved and St. Jude, a cause close to her heart. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this and I appreciate any and all the support, both financial and the more importantly, the kind words, encouragement, and offers to help us the past 3 months. You've been amazing and I will never forget this in the toughest moment of my life.