Hello all and thank you for reading.

My name is Brooks and I’m 21 years old. I have one son who is 3. We do not live near each other and I want to change that. I initially moved away for a job that ended up going bad and I was out of work. I’ve been struggling trying to get back to him but I fell extremely ill. I’ve always had problems with arthritis and ulcers. But a few months ago they found a growth in my lung and a tumor on my brain. Work has become extremely hard. I can barely move or get out of bed most days because I’m pretty much stuck in whatever position I wake up in. I ended up leaving my job due to the bulling I was receiving from my managers. They would talk down to me and tell me I was useless or worthless due to my conditions and would order me to do things that my doctor (in writing) said not to be doing. I left because I couldn’t physically or mentally take it anymore. At the moment I am homeless and trying to get back to my son. My doctor is advising against that because with me being homeless and my conditions, I’m estimated to only live another year unless I can get off the street. Longer if I can afford the treatments. If I move back to where my son is, I’m estimated only to live another 6 months because I won’t have any medical help until after the period of being approved by medicaid, getting in with a doctor and them figuring out my method of treatment plus I will still be homeless. I’m so lost on what to do but I need to be with my son. My doctor had tried to help me get disability but they didn’t approve me. I’m on my last leg and have no one I can turn to as my family isn’t the greatest. I just need anything to help me until I can get everything sorted out here. I’d really like to live a little longer and get the treatment I need. Any donation would be much appreciated and would help in getting me to my son as well as medications and treatment and places to stay until I can get another job. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and thank you for all future help.

Sincerely Brooks

https://www.paypal.me/arkhos

Hello,

My name is Emily, and I am 23 years old taking care of my mom who has grand mal seizures. She’s 62 years old, and her condition has only gotten worse. I unfortunately can’t afford to pay for much other than food on the table and partial bills. I can’t even afford her medication to calm them down. She doesn’t have the capability to work. I hate asking for help but this is my last option. She’s had seizures since she was 32 years old. And it’s only gotten worse since insurance won’t pay for the medicine like they used to.  My mom means the world to me, she’s all I have left. I lost my dad in 2011 to cancer. I can’t lose my mom because the seizures are rotting her brain. She’s been in and out of hospitals for a few years now, they haven’t found any other way of calming down the episodes. She’s had a close call of losing her tongue and shattering her teeth. I work 48 hour weeks as a server and I don’t make enough to keep us on our feet. I’m not asking for a pity party. I’m just asking for someone with a kind heart who’s understanding where I’m coming from. My mom used to be a teacher. She used to take care of me with such care. She left her job when I was born to be a better mother to me. She helped me through depression when I lost my dad. I began working at 15 to help with the bills and living expenses with my mom. But she unfortunately fell too ill to continue working a few years ago. So now it’s just me relying on my job and school loans to pay for things. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate every penny that comes to help me get my mom back on her feet. She deserves to feel happy and whole again. She’s an incredible woman. She’s helped so many to never ask for anything in return.

To anyone that may be reading this, to explain the current situation, my best friend was run over by a drunk driver when she was only 5 years old. It was night of the fourth of july, the driver whipped around the corner with no lights on and hit her. Her head got stuck under the tire and was cheese grated along the pavement. She had rocks ground into her back as well, and still has scars on her body from the incident. They had to pick the rocks out and then she had multiple surgeries over several months to save her little life. 11 total. One of which was a skin graft from her butt to the left side of her head. A literal butthead as she likes to say. She recovered well and became a bright young woman.

She may have survived but her suffering never ended. To this day and every day since that night she feels residual pain from it, and gradually increasing. Her jaw isnt fully grown on the side that was hit, and pops in and out of place almost constantly, nor does it sit correctly. Sometimes she has to stop talking for hours at a time, just so that she can have some relief. And it causes her daily pain, to the point that she cries all the time about how much pain shes in. How its always there, no matter what she does. Her eye on the same side drifts from time to time, and she has trouble seeing with it. It gives her splitting headaches she has no control over.

Shes afraid to wear her hair up because everytime she does people never stop staring at her scar, a bald patch about the size of the palm of your hand. And they never will stop staring. Ive heard the story so many times over the years i know it by heart myself. The same spiel over and over each time someone new sees it. All the jokes people make constantly at her expense. Never being able to just fit in because something happened to her that was beyond her control. It wasnt her fault and it wasnt her choice. Why should she have to suffer this pain every single day because of someone elses mistake?

We know that shes going to need reconstructive surgery, yet another one to add to the list, something that has her terrified of hospitals and doctors in general because of all the trauma that came along with it. But our health coverage with the government wont help. Apparently its “cosmetic”

Shes been trying to better her life, she went to school for cosmetology so that she could succeed, and now that shes in that field shes treated like garbage for how she looks. We’ve been trying our best to make the money so that she can have the surgery done without us going in the hole, but truth be told the pain she feels gets worse every passing day. She desperately needs this and I want nothing more than to help her. We’re doing our best and because of the world we live in sadly thats not good enough.

Hi Everyone,

I’m reaching out to you because I’ve started a Campaign for Surgery and Treatment of a rare disease (Apraxia of Eyelid Opening associated with Blepharospasm).

Apraxia of lid opening is a condition in which patients who have otherwise normal eyelids have difficulty opening the eyelids.

The specific causes of blepharospasm and apraxia of lid opening are unknown, but these two conditions coexist in some patients and can be difficult to treat.

It is important to make a correct diagnosis, and a combined surgical and botulinum toxin treatment can be very effective.

Untreated, the conditions are visually disabling and may create functional blindness.

This cause means so much to me as I cannot continue to function without continued treatment and surgery.  My Insurance has treatment limits and only covers 4 per year . I’ve paid out over $5,000, maxed out my credit cards and have outstanding loans to have some of the necessary treatments done. The funds collected would  positively impact my life for future treatments and surgery .

If you could support by making a donation and then sharing with your network, It would be greatly appreciated. I know money can be tight, so please know that even $5 helps get closer to the goal !  Thank you for your kindness  . ❤

I am 50 years old. I was a senior technologist of a multimedia development firm before 2000. I quit them when they had internal office politics issues. I decided I wanted to teach myself game development, but then my father got cancer. He was a database programmer and web developer for small businesses. I had to continue his work so he could afford his insurance.

In 2009 I had a gall stone get lodged in my pancreatic duct, and I got Acute Pancreatitis. I was hospitalized for a month and told I would die. My insurance company wanted to transfer me to Hospice care. I got better, but now I have Chronic Pancreatitis and diabetes, because my pancreas is not creating enough digestive enzymes or insulin. With insurance I was taking prescription digestive enzymes and insulin.

After my father died I got an inheritance I could live off of modestly for a few years. I also sold my house and got a small condo. I tried looking for work but nobody wants a 40+ year old programmer with a long gap in my employment.

I kept paying for my own insurance, and it drained my remaining money completely. I have applied for disability a number of times before, and been rejected. The Social Security website says I need 20 “employment credits” in the past 10 years, but I have not held a full-time job for 18 years. I just had to cancel my insurance because I cannot afford it. There is a cheap kind of insulin I can get without insurance, plus my doctor gave me a bunch of free Pens during our final visit.

Without digestive enzymes, my body takes more effort to digest food. Whenever I eat, I get very tired and have to sleep. I usually try and only eat twice per day. Plus, I have Sleep Apnea, untreated, because the CPAP does not work for me, and I have insomnia. That means I am in an almost constant zombie-like state of being tired and only sleeping for a few hours at a time. I mostly have to sleep in a chair.

There are things I could still do to work, since I am still a programmer, and I have taught myself new languages, but it would not be to the satisfaction of any employer. Because of my sleeping issues It would take me much longer to finish a project than it takes other people.

I wrote some apps and put them up for sale, but they are not selling well. I also wrote a novel and put it up on Amazon, it is also not selling. I get about 20 bucks a month (varies) from t-shirt designs at CafePress and Zazzle.

Of course I have depression now, but I have had depression my entire life for other reasons- I am trans, but never transitioned, because I knew society would not accept me, and I never accepted myself either. Since unemployment in 2000 and illness in 2009 my depression has gotten worse.

I am also afraid of people. I was beaten a lot as a kid for obvious reasons, and I have never made friends. I stay in my apartment for a few months at a time without leaving. I only leave to take the trash out or buy groceries. We don’t have garbage pickup so I have to drive it to the dumpster, but I usually wait till I have a lot of it in bags in my entry before I make the trip. When I go to the supermarket I wear headphones to block out other people. I buy cheap foods in bulk so I don’t have to go frequently. I prefer to not go out on weekends, only weekdays, when there are fewer people in the market.

I do not know what to do. I will be getting another small inheritance soon from my grandmother’s death, and that may last me three years at most, not enough to last me until I can collect Social Security at 67. Then I will be homeless, and with my medical conditions I cannot live on the street, so I will have to kill myself.

I was always faithful about getting my mammograms and well woman check-ups, but then one year totally forgot. I was too busy, and I just figured I was too old. I got through menopause and was healthy. Yes, my mother and sister had breast cancer, but they were in their 40s and I was in my late 50s. So, I was past the onset age. Yes, that is what I thought. One afternoon, I remember to schedule my mammogram and was able to get in right away. All went normal, or so I thought. The next day, I got that call, one no one expects to get. They wanted me to come back in to do a biopsy.
I went in for the biopsy, they would send the results to my doctor. My doctor called me immediately after receiving the results, I HAD BREAST CANCER. I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. He referred me to a great oncologist and the treatment began. I had two surgeries, 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 35 rounds of radiation. Eight months after it had begun, I was done with treatment. Now I have is the ongoing visits to my oncologist. My tumor markers (what the doctor uses to determine if the cancer is returning) continue to remain high, which isn’t great, but she can’t see any other signs, so she just wants to watch me.
All this costs money, it ate into savings and had to not pay the mortgage sometimes. I received a small inheritance from my parents when they passed but that had to go towards the house payment. I am now in debt and need to pay my mortgage. I am unemployed and looking for a job. It is hard to find a job when you are 60 years old, people don’t want to even interview you. I have a bachelor’s degree and have worked since I was 16 years old. I just need some help till I can get a job and get back on my feet.
Thank you for any help you can provide.

I am hoping you will read my entire story. It is an interesting one and involves living in Africa, and then Asia. The story unfolds below:

—

I believe we make our own luck. I have made my own luck…and will again. But sometimes life just throws you curveballs. Sometimes those curveballs are so extreme that it is very hard to get out from under.

One other time in my life, I needed help. And I was so stubborn in asking for it that I lived in danger of dying for 2 years and had to have 3 blood transfusions before I gave in. I promised myself that I would never do that again.

—

A Prelude:
When I was 18, in 1986, my Yugoslavian immigrant refugee parents disowned me for moving to California. They did not disown my brother for doing the same. Women were treated differently in our family. I was an artist and this did not sit well with them either.

I did not let that dissuade me and I worked 2-3 jobs at a time to pay for 5 years of University. When I finished, I took some time off. Unsure of what to do with my life.

It was the mid 90s and computer graphics and web design were fairly new. As soon as I discovered it, I knew what I wanted to do.

I bought a computer, books and everything necessary to learn. I didn’t even know how to turn a computer on. I traded housecleaning for some lessons to get started. Then, I locked myself in my apartment for 2 years studying and practicing web design. I meditated. I visualized. I studied and studied. I became good at design.

Suddenly, a 10cm cyst was found on my ovary. I lived from pay check to pay check so I had to move in with a friend. I met my future husband on my last celebratory evening before surgery. Surgery did not go so well, and I lost my ovary. (That was the beginning of lifelong medical issues.)

Nowhere to go, I moved in with my future husband. I landed my 1st job in a large web agency. At 1st I struggled and went home crying every day, afraid I would get fired. But I kept on learning and getting better.

Within 3 years, I advanced and worked on Fortune 500 websites, was being flown around for my expertise, became an art director at the 8th largest corporation in the world. Was being paid 6 figures.

I worked incredibly hard to get there.
I made my own luck.

2003: Moved to (Rw_nda) (I do not want my story to be found by acquaintances in search engines as it might hurt future work prospects so I disguised the country names)

In California, commuting 3 hours a day and working 60-80 hours a week, I was so burnt out that I left. I received a request to volunteer to do a website for a Rw_nda project. The designer had dropped out, fearful of travel because of SARS and 9-11. I was excited to come and was on a plane in 2 weeks. This was 9 years after the genocide.

I found it exhilarating to be there and help. My husband and I have always wanted to travel and so I started our new life there while he closed up shop at home. He sold his investment home that he got on foreclosure and made a good profit. He came from a similar background of starting with nothing. He made his own luck. He came a year later.

Meanwhile I worked with NGOs as a designer, and then a Creative director on campaigns & educational materials dealing with HIV/AIDS, malaria, family planning, safe water and income generation.

Within a year, my husband and I started our own design agency there. We produced a prolific amount of work that blanketed the entire country. Over the course of 7 years, we contributed to the great transformation of the country. Its growth was astounding, and we felt proud to be recognized as an important part of that growth.

We never intended to stay nearly 7 years in Rw_nda. But it was so difficult to leave knowing what an impact we were making. We were not sure that they could continue marketing on their own. But the 10s 0f millions of educational materials we produced on every health care issue reached the hands of an entire well-organized country and even a child could recite the facts by the time we left. That would carry on.

We were deeply burnt out from working crazy long hours, 6 or 7 days a week, and decided it was time to go.

We were surprised at the reaction of the staff, … holding on to us and heaving in sobs. Looking back, their reaction had made sense.

Some of them would never have another opportunity like that again. We took care of them. We paid for education. We hired a part time English teacher for 2 years that taught 2 levels of English. We paid for driving lessons and licences. We went to doctor’s appointments with them and held their hand through surgeries that we paid for. We physically rescued them from several road accidents and would not leave the hospital until they were properly treated. We saved 3 of their lives. We even bought two of them a home. My husband was the honorary father in one of their weddings. Jean-Paul. He could not even look at us when we said we were leaving. He was so hurt. But we just had to go.

Years have gone by and fortunately, several of them were able to take what we taught them and go incredibly far.

—

2010: Went to (Z_nz_b_r), (T_nz_n_a)

We decided to go to our favorite vacation spot to think about our next move. We sold nearly everything we owned and shipped the rest to be put in storage in D_r Es S_l_am, Tz.

That is when a remarkable amount of strange and horrible things started to happen. They would not stop for another 8 years.

The things that went wrong are so enormous and numerable. It would take a book to explain it all. I will try to summarize.

When we arrived, the country was in complete black out. Zero electricity. This would continue for 3 months.

We had some savings and a client that covered our bills. But soon after arriving, our computers broke down from the irregular electricity. Our camera equipment was riddled with mold from the humid island. We lost about $20,000 in equipment. One of our faithful employees stole about $5,000 from us.

Suddenly, we were forced to start working locally. We were not sure we wanted to stay there, but now we were unable to leave.

Local clients, including expat business owners, were incredibly demanding and incredibly cheap. They were unwilling to pay more than lower than entry level designer fees. The internet was painfully slow, so every job took far longer than normal. It was so slow; we were unable to solicit business off the island. We had lost our consistent client that paid the bills. Year after year we grew poorer.

My husband thought he caught a break when getting a project from an international NGO. But somehow, people just seemed to think it was ok to pay us near nothing, yet demand so much. We thought, is it because we live on this island? He was pushed to work long hours, do extra work, and was paid very little … meanwhile watching kids from Europe with less than half his experience and talent being paid enormous amounts. Always respecting our know how and skills, but never willing to pay for them.

Slowly by slowly, our confidence wavered … more and more and more each year. We became so despondent and distraught. It felt like we could never come out of this. Still working 60-80 hours a week, we were unable to even go out for $10 meals. Meanwhile, we helped brand and promote clients who grew rich in front of us, with our help, but were unwilling to pay more than peanuts.

We grew tired and bitter. We felt lost. Exhausted. We struggled in what little work we could get. The stress was too much and I had split with my husband after 15 years of marriage. I moved in with a friend in her spare room.

—

But then, I thought I caught a break. A new EU project came to town to lead the design of a permanent exhibit on slavery. I wrote a proposal and landed the job. I was offered less than half of what I asked for, but it was substantially higher than what I was making. The project was not scheduled to start for 4 months.

Also suddenly, I was feeling so unwell and I was told by the doctor that I needed emergency surgery or I could die. My haemoglobin levels were so low (5.6) that I was told I really should have a blood transfusion but she did not trust the blood there. I swallowed as much meat and protein as I could throughout the month to get my iron levels high (as I did every month for the next 2 years…raising them up as much as possible so that when I plummeted, I would not need a blood transfusion or die that month.)

Ever since I lost my ovary in 1999, I progressively bled more each year. When I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids in 2007, the bleeding grew to flooding, and more recently to haemorrhaging. I was completely shaken. I had almost no money.

My kind roommate was out of town and as I sit in his house researching my options through an anemic haze, I kid you not, my tooth fell out into my lap and landed near a mole that had grown 3x the size in 6 months. I rarely cry, but at that moment, I hung my head and sobbed…deep, guttural sobs.

I thought through my situation and went to the local dentist for an evaluation. He said it was just a crown and that I could get by for some time with it the way it was (that was about 5 years ago – still not fixed).

I had $300 in my pocket and decided the mole was most urgent (I needed much more than that for surgery) and went to D_r Es Sa_l__m to see a doctor about my mole. It was fine. I knew I had a 30% advanced payment coming in that I could use toward my surgery. Maybe it would be ok.

The project delayed and delayed. The director decided they could not give me an advance, and would pay month to month. The Euro dropped by 25%, reducing my pay by that much.

I reached out to my siblings but neither of them returned my email. My mother (separated from my father) had just had a massive stroke and was lost in dementia. I could not ask her. Or her husband who was in a fog of worry and exhaustion from taking care of her. She became like a child who could not walk by herself.

Asking the man who disowned me for money in my late 40s was something I was unwilling to do. My father at 83 years old was in horrible health and would die soon. Although we reconciled, the last thing I wanted was to see me as a failure just before he died. And I was so terrified that the news would kill him.

The only thing I could do was work, research, sleep and worry. Luckily, the project was nearly all based from home. The bleeding was so bad I could not leave the house for at least 2 weeks a month without flooding all over myself and car seats, etc. Once I erupted in front of my director and I started balling. I told him about my situation. He said he could tell because I look so ill sometimes. One person on the project later recounted that I looked so ill that it looked like I could die.

The project was a mess. The writer produced a book of bad text for me to work with. 3x the size allotted in the exhibit. She turned it in 3 months late on top of that. No one believed me that the text was a mess and needed complete editing. She did not agree. The boss did not agree. It was literally impossible to adapt her work into an exhibit. On top of that, I was continuously asked to do things that made no sense and was too tired to object in a logical voice.

Eventually, I could see that the project would not move forward if something hadn’t changed. I told the director that this project will never finish if I was not able to self-direct and that the writer’s job is done. He agreed and left it to me. I received a few thousand extra to take on her role. Little did I know how big it was. It took me another year and some months to unravel the text, research and write remaining panels and design, print and install the exhibit.

In the midst of all of this, I had bled, a lot. I was going through 80 tampons each month. I went in and out of anemic fogs. Housebound nearly 100% of the time. I was so exhausted. Even hanging the laundry was soo exhausting I had to take breaks between clothes. My breathing was so labored, at some points I thought I might suffocate to death. If I walked a block, my heart raced so hard. In public, if I walked up even a short flight of stairs, I felt like I could have a heart attack, I could hear my heart pounding in my head so loud.

As time went on, I asked my boss for more money for the extra work. I was no longer being paid because I exhausted all of my hours. He said there was no more money. This was perhaps a million-dollar project. I grew resentful and angry, but kept working.

When I did go out, I was in such a fowl mood from illness and resentment. I was also being ostracized for leaving my husband. It is a small island and our separation was the gossip of the year. I stayed home for the most part.

There was a 2 month period where I went into such a depression that I was absolutely certain I would die in my bed. Just certain. I felt abandoned by my family, inhumanely treated by my boss and ostracized by my community. My only dear friends had moved away. Listening to Ekhart Tolle tapes got me through it. Living in the present, I was at least alive.

Suddenly a series of even worse things happened. I began haemorrhaging to a terrifying level. I lost about a pint of blood in an hour and was calling around to hospitals about a blood transfusion. Luckily it slowed. But when I went in for a routine haemoglobin test, the nurses jaw dropped. 5.4 and still flooding. She said get to the hospital fast, the doctor is there for 10 more minutes. The whole staff watched me as I ran from the building.

I caught the doctor on the way out the door and when she looked at my numbers, she looked at me and said, you aren’t going anywhere. We need to start blood transfusions now. As I waited, I called around and found that the blood was properly screened so that was a relief. Over 3 days, in a terrible hospital with terrible nurses, I was given 2 pints of blood.

When I left, I felt better than I had in 10 years. I could suddenly ride a bike. I bounced around with energy. I realized then, recalling my strength and energy levels in the past, that I had been anemic for over 10 years. No wonder I was poor! I was desperately anemic all the time and was never thinking clearly. I had tested before but it must have been a good month because it was not caught in the past.

I decided from that day forward that I would closely monitor my haemoglobin and get blood transfusions if I dipped below 9. I found a doctor in a new hospital who agreed to take care of me until I could find the money. I had to keep my mind sharp to think my way out of this mess.

When I was in the hospital, my husband took care of me. He was desperate to get back with me and he thought this would be his opportunity. I was afraid to live alone and so he moved in. He got on the project to help me. This meant, he was not producing any other money. We were miserably broke.

Suddenly, the landlords decided they wanted to move back in to their apartment. I was lucky to find the one I was in for only $350 and it would be impossible to find one again. Plus the project was near ending and I could not sign a lease for that long, nor did I have the money to pay the required 6 months advance. Without a long lease, rent was really high.

Now we are on the road working. Sleeping at friends homes while they are out of town, staying in cheap hotels, bouncing around the island trying to get by, while working, while bleeding, with no solution in site. We struggled and struggled to get the job done.

It was an important project and we were determined to finish it properly in spite of not being paid for probably a year and a half to 2 years of work in the end.

This project was, stupidly, as important to me as my health. I could not abandon it after all I sacrificed for it, so near to completion. There was literally no single individual who could take it from my hands to complete it.

(This permanent exhibit would preserve the legacy and lost history of an island, most of which were descended from slaves. It was an untold story, other than in historical academia. It was a massive project that would educate the entire island about the truth, and perhaps provide some empathy on all sides to help them overcome their victim mentality and hostility toward their oppressor’s descendants. There was an uprising there 50 years back and tensions ebb and flow, feeling like another uprising could occur. This information could help heal the people. Especially knowing that they too were slave owners in their past.)

Our director thought we were a flight risk and actually threatened me, in his nice British round-about way, that I would be sued if I left for surgery before the project was done. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He showed respect for me in my work, but none in my time or my pay.

I wrote a letter to him and others that I would not complete the work unless I received payment for my remaining work. We had mediators and fierce arguments. He KNEW my situation. He was horrible and tried to make me out to be unstable. He thought that I was trying to take advantage by lying about my hours to get them to pay for my surgery. I told him, NO, I am trying to get PAID for the hours that I worked so that I could pay for my own surgery! Eventually we settled for a smaller amount. Enough to live on for the next 6 months as we completed the project.

That 6 months, we slept in 7 different locations. And I had 2 more blood transfusions.

—

I finally came to grips with the fact that the only way out was to ask my father for help. He immediately stepped up and sent me the money. We flew to South Africa for surgery, all in between, completing the job. We had make overs and replaced our worn clothes and felt a bit of dignity again. We returned to Zanzibar to complete the installation and witness the launch.

During that 6 months, less than 2 months after my surgery, my father was moved from his apartment to a care facility. I was fortunate to happen to call him there the day after he was moved to intensive care. NO ONE in my family bothered to tell me. I quickly found him in the hospital. When I called and they said it was his daughter, I could hear him screaming ‘NO’ in the distance. I urgently told her to ‘tell him it’s Mary’ – ‘tell him it’s Mary’. She told him it was Mary and he said ‘oh, it’s Mary. Yes, I will take the call’ (He had been in my sister’s care. He thought I was her. She and my brothers were at a sports game that day).

I was able to talk to my father the day before he died. I was able to tell him I would be ok now and that I loved him. I thanked him again and again for saving my life. I was told that as he was dying, his siblings (my aunts and uncles) said that he died with a smile on his face and that his last words were that he was proud of every one of his children.

He never got to see my exhibit. But I feel so lucky to have caught him that day. And that he was so lucky too to hear those last words from me. Living as an old and unappreciated man, he was able to do something incredibly important in his last days … save his daughters life. And she appreciated it. So much. I believe that brought him incredible peace as he passed.

My father did die within 2 months of asking him for money. I do wonder if the worry killed him. At the same time, I think perhaps, he was somehow meant to stick around just long enough to help me.

—

With little money, we somehow got lucky with an acquaintance who managed an apartment and negotiated cheap rent. It was next to a disco, had screaming, tied up dogs next door, rats running through the central atrium, black mold and even mushroom clusters growing on the walls, huge spoon-sized roaches in the kitchen. On top of that, the fridge broke down every few days and was impossible to fix causing a continuous lost food and bacterial infections. The water would go out for days so we were using reserve water. Also causing bacterial infections. It was hot, so hot. It was dilapidated, but spacious and pretty.

I thought my health issues were over, but I suddenly kept injuring myself. The injuries would not heal. Sprained ankle, ripped shoulder cuff. I could not raise my arm above shoulder level for a year and a half. Burnt beyond repair, I could not work. I laid in a depression for nearly 2 years.

Most of our local clients were lost because we had been on the project for so long. My husband was bring in so little. He was too frazzled and desperate to think beyond reaching out to anyone other than local clients. We were ashamed of our decline and stayed indoors most of the time.

We ran out of money too many times to count. We relied on the local shop owners to provide us food on credit. Borrow, pay back, borrow, pay back…for nearly 2 years. Once we ran out of cooking gas and we had to cook all of our meals our nearly broken down electric tea kettle. Than that broke. Needless to say, our diets were awful and not helping us heal.

I spent that time working on forgiveness. I had so much resentment and so many people to forgive…including myself. It was a dark time. I knew that apartment was a test for me and that if I can find joy here, I can find it anywhere. That only by finding joy in such a horrible place, could I be released from it.

I practice on turning my negative thoughts into positive ones and eventually I blossomed. I came through the dark and started to feel light and so good. My shoulder started healing a bit. I was able to hold joy and positive thoughts consistently for 3 months.

Suddenly, after nearly 2 years, my father’s inheritance came in. It seemed that my sister convinced my father to change the will in his last month, cutting me out of a portion of my part. We would have only $10,000. After buying needed computers for work, and a few items for travel, that left us with just over $4k to strike out and brave it with no safety net. That would have to cover air flights and visas as well.

We desperately wanted off that island. More than anyone could imagine. It had been 8 LONG years. Losing our youth. Our productive years. I had turned 50 in that apartment. We had to take the risk. I was terrified. I had become claustrophobic (from menopause) and feared planes and tight spaces. Our visas were also expired and we did not want to spend what little we had to renew them. We had to make a run for it. This was October of 2017.

We had already planned that when we left, we would pet sit for some years so we could have free rent and rebuild. We planned that we should start with countries that cost very little so if we get in a bind, we could rent somewhere cheap. We decided on Goa, India because of the cost, available sits, and length of visa (6 months).

While in Goa, I recovered more and more, but not fully. I got another injury that still won’t heal. I also had a tooth infection and was told I needed an urgent root canal just before we left.

But by the end, we had the opportunity to meet wonderful and generous people who were able to help us a bit. We made two life-long friends. We pet sit for more than half of the time there. We both felt like the nightmare was over and that our luck had finally changed. And it did. We left Goa in April of this year.

We went on to Thailand and have had only 3 days of no pet sits since. Almost 100% free rent. Again, we met wonderful people. Generous people. I got over my claustrophobia. I rode a train, by myself, even with my bad glasses and bad vision. I got teary eyed with joy that day. In six weeks, we pet sit 6 times, slept in many, many beds, slept on a train, in cheap hotels and had so much activity. It was scary to not know where you will sleep, many of the pet sits were sudden. Yet it was exciting because of the fears I was overcoming.

One of our pet sits offered us an apartment if we run into trouble. We took them up on it for a few days. They have many vacant ones and invited us to stay in them in the future. The relief of having somewhere to go and not having homelessness over our heads is something I didn’t realize was so heavy until it got released. Our luck was truly changing.

Although our luck is changing (we are making our luck), the biggest thing looming over my head is my health and my teeth. I got a 2nd opinion from a dentist in Bangkok. They did a thorough exam for so little. My teeth are a mess and she confirmed it. My root canal is so urgent that it is approaching and threatening to infect the tooth next to it. It may or may not be able to be saved. It is reaching the bone.

Also, I have an exposed tooth with no cap now for 5 years. And a temporary filling on another tooth. And a deep bite. My tooth hurts every day and feels like it is rotting. I believe it is causing me osteoarthritis as I have an infection in my body. I am suspicious that this is the cause of my unexplained injuries and stiff joints.

Now here we sit in Hua Hin, Thailand. A three month pet sit in a pretty home. About 2 months after seeing the dentist. My tooth is worse and worse but I try to ignore it.

All of the moving around was so exhausting I crashed for the 1st month, unable to move. My husband also crashed. But after rest, we are so optimistic and have more energy than in a long time.

But we are not completely well. I am still not well enough commit to projects. And even though work is trickling in for my husband, he cannot get a break to think of a better plan. He is coming out of burnout but our state has been desperate for so long, it will take time to recover and think straight. We have business ideas that we want to start but cannot until we file tax returns so that we can apply for business licences. We cannot afford the tax attorney to file our taxes so we cannot start businesses to pull us out of our poverty. It’s a catch 22 and we have been in it for so long.

I had made a promise to myself to ask for help when I need it. We are now 8 months away from our prison and feeling so much better. But we are no closer to getting over that hump. Again, I am well enough that I can realize it’s time to ask for help.

We are eager to get to the next stage of our life where we can help ourselves. I would like to start my own project that I believe will help many people. We have so much to offer the world.

In this current state of the world, there are so many more desperate people asking for help. It may seem like our plight is trivial compared to others, and it is. But I do believe we have given far more than we have taken and I am hoping that someone out there will feel for our story and want to help us become productive citizens in the world once again.

—

I am asking for any kind person out there for donations that would go toward the following:

1.)
(Most Urgently) My Dental Work (Thong Lor Dental Clinic:
Root Canal: 14,000 Bhat / $425
+ Crown: 20,700 Bhat / $630

total $1,055

If someone is kind enough to even partially help us with the 1 emergency root canal and crown, we would be so amazingly grateful. I provided a longer list because I believe in miracles and you never know until you ask.

—

2.)
Crown lower right second molar no. 47 (Hurting): 15,200 / $462
Filling second molar no. 37: 1,400 Bhat / $43
Filling right 1st molar no. 16: 2,200 Bhat / $67
Filling upper left second premolar no. 25: 2,100 Bhat / $64
Filling upper left second no 27: 1,700 Bhat / $52
Cleaning: 1,700 Bhat / $52

Total: $740

—

If by chance we are fortunate enough to receive money for the dentist, any excess would be spent on the following, in order of importance:

3.) Medical Checkups and tests for me and any medicine: Approximately $500
(I have not seen a doctor since my surgery. I need help to start feeling well so I can work)

4.) Tax attorney to file back taxes: $1,400

5.) Business start-up – 1 license (DBA, Filing Fee, Agent Fee, Certified copy of record): $285
(We would like to get a separate one for each of us)

6.) Insurance for my computer for 3 years. I have 3 months to insure it in time and it is already needing service. My computer is my work: $300

—

If this much were taken care of, we would be so beyond blessed. If for some reason, anyone is willing to help more, here are the next things we would take care of:

7.) Husbands Dr. appointments and test: $250
(He will need less tests than me. But he has not had a check up in 10 years and is not feeling well. He is 50.)

8.) Husbands Root canal 14,000 Bhat and crown 20,700 Bhat…=34,700 Bhat / $1,055
(His root canal is 16 years old and his tooth is hurting. We think his infection is leaking. He tested and an infection was found in his body. We think this is why and why he may not be performing well)

—

For any of you who made it through my long story, thank you for taking the time to read it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any donation, no matter how small. It will go to good use.

Wishing you all good health, love, peace and prosperity!

m.

Please submit donations here >> paypal.me/WorldOfMars

I don’t really know where to begin…
I am a single mom of a 6 year old and just can’t seem to catch a break. I don’t want to post a picture of us because I am honestly pretty embarrased…
I am doing my best to raise my daughter by myself with very little help from her father.
My story is I am paycheck to paycheck with medical bills still from 2013 that totaled over $8,000 for a surgery my daughter and I both needed… (No it is not even close to being paid off). I don’t buy clothes for myself and try to make sure she has everything she needs before myself. the home I bought was a disaster flip and I have been trying to fix it little by little. Before you think, “Oh she has a house” let me stop you there… it is a little 900sq foot house on a slab. My mortgage and taxes are only $400 a month. Everything in it has mostly been given to me and the little I purchased is from resale. If I lost this house my daughter and I would be on the streets. There is NO way we could afford anything else.
I am a kind hearted person and try to do my best as a good human being to others and give even when I don’t have to give…
I would love to take care of my medical bills and maybe have some for my furnace since that will need to be replaced before the winter.
Thank you for your time
Single Mom :)

paypal.me/Coble617

I won’t bore you all with an incredibly long story filled with a bunch of details you don’t care about. I’m a 21 year old woman from Detroit, Michigan born to a single, teen mother. For as long as I can remember, I’ve either been sick or in pain. I’d be stuck in bed for days, even weeks sometimes, in so much pain that I couldn’t walk without my mothers help. When I wasn’t in pain though, I had cold-like symptoms. I had a runny/stuffy nose, fever, headaches, and a severe cough. Every time I would get sick, the doctors would rush around ordering tests that always came back inconclusive. They’d prescribe steroids in an effort to jump start my immune system, but more often than not, I was still left with traces of whatever it was. They’d also prescribe me pain killers, but only a couple days supply to prevent addiction. In January of 2018, (just after I’d turned 21) I finally had the answer to all my questions. I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. This is a type of arthritis and autoimmune disease. Long story short, it can cause GI complications, inflammation of the eyes, bone tissue formation, sleep disorders, physical deformities, and more. The biggest problem I face is the risk that the vertebrae in my spine will fuse together and I’ll end up in a wheelchair if I don’t strengthen my back, but to do that I need physical therapy. I’m trying to save up for the portion of hydrotherapy that my insurance won’t cover, and I need your help. I’d like to stay off of narcotics for as long as I can, but I need PT for that. Please help me avoid the burden of a drug addiction and becoming a burden myself. The total cost of 6 months of PT is $3900, but my insurance will cover about 75% of it. The only part they won’t cover is the last $1000. Any donation you can give will be tremendously appreciated and will go a long way in improving my quality of life.

All donations will be accepted through my paypal:

https://www.paypal.me/alexfergg

Not anything anyone wants to do, or ask for, but bad things happen to good people, that is the way it goes.

Where do I start, after being diagnosed with Psoriasis some years ago, I didn’t give it much consideration. The skin condition is what is noticeable but the issues created with the joints is the real ugly part of the disease a autoimmune condition that causes joint destruction and arthritis. Over time the condition worsens, biological medicines is how this condition is treated and not a option I wanted to pursue for good reason side effects. Now it looks like I will need to start treating with biologic’s.

My joint damage is bad enough it effects everyday tasks, the things that use to be easy , no longer are. My career was in construction, I was a Superintendent in charge of commercial construction projects, I am no longer able to work and have not in three years. The last two years I have been on disability, it’s not much, thank God I payed in as much as I did, It helps big time but it does not replace a career and a salary let alone a persons self worth.

Now I find myself with other mounting medical issues. In June of 2017 I was diagnosed with liver disease, Yup Cirrhosis of the liver, well my meld score is low a good thing I guess ? It is a serious disease with serious consequences. I am being treated, the medical bills are mounting. I have had several paracentesis procedures performed ( not cheap ) I have one bill  $4,357.65 for these procedures alone.

Now, well recently having gone on Social security disability,  ( never imagined ) then being diagnosed with cirrhosis on top of trying to get a handle on the joint erosion and damage, Arthritis, I recently went to the doctors with abdominal bulging. Well I have hernia’s of the intestines, well at this moment things are okay. If the hernias were to twist or create a emergency situation, I would have big trouble and was told I would not survive surgery. So as you can imagine this is on my mind, things can be corrected or repaired, I just have to be balanced and prepared under control.

Thank You for listening and reading this, It helped just writing it. If you are able to help and would like to awesome and thanks again. If you cant help I understand and thank you for reading about my battle.

All the best and Thank You again……… paypal.me/nipper88

Hi, I am Raiden’s Mom! A few months ago we found out that our 7yr old son Raiden has a brain tumor. We have to travel 3 hours from our town to Phoenix Children’s Hospital quite often for treatments. Though I am used to working full time and making great money, times are getting hard. The traveling has really been hard on our car, I have missed a lot of work. I have managed to keep up on the mortgage, but worried for how long. His Hospital bills are adding up as well. just asking for help with bills and maybe a newer or more dependable car. I would chew my limbs off for this kid, I so wish I could trade him places. Anything counts. I don’t even know how much to even ask for really. I was making double house payment and brought my 30yr loan down to 10. I have around 45,00 left on my home. I have a used 2007 van with very high miles and multiple problems. My Husband has been staying at home while I go to phoenix with our youngest, we have other children as well. It was cheaper for him to stay home than to pay someone to watch them. Absolutely every Dollar helps. I noticed there is a place on here to post an image. Since he is so young, if you would like to see a pic I would send them email, but I wont post publicly. Thank you, and thank you for taking the time to read this.

I will try to keep it short. I am a 31 year old taking care of 4 stepchildren, and a wife with two blown discs in her back (she refuses to collect disability as a matter of principle) and cancer of the uterus. You can’t help who you fall in love with, I stand by her in all things.

I need help to keep a roof over their heads…literally. I lost my job as a construction worker last year, and my credit went in the tank…I was on the verge of losing our home due to unemployment, but have finally stabilized income and am working constantly trying to get back on track.

I have maxed out every credit card for my wife to have emergency surgery to remove her cancer. Prayer and doing that kept her alive. But, I am at 490 credit score currently and cannot secure an emergency loan to pay any of what I owe, I have no family to help either. The total debt we have for all of the surgeries is $10,000 dollars. Lenders just keep turning us away for second mortgages. Any amount helps to keep us afloat.

We are hard working people, just in a bad spot. If anyone out there can help in any way, I will repay your kindness however possible. Thank you and God Bless you.

Hello- I am in a desperate situation, as I’m sure a lot of folks are! I’ve had two strokes which I have recovered from (by God’s mercy) in 2014 and 2015. As a result of these, work is hard to come by. Found work in August of 2015 a few months after my 2nd stroke but was laid off end of July 2017. I have found part time work at the local Dollar Tree here where I live but it amounts to just a few hours weekly. My wife has also found part time work taking care of an elderly lady in another city. (We are both 58 and have 5 children and 6 grandchildren and my youngest son who lives with us is also graduating high school this year with honors). But because we had already accumulated debt, it is becoming more and more difficult staying ahead. I have hospital bills in the amount of $4,000.00, I went to a title loan company to get a loan from my vehicle for $3,000.00 which is now at $3,600.00 with high interest as I’m sure you understand. I’m behind in our rent by about $3,850.00 and utilities are gonna be behind soon. Everything we are making is going into our current bills leaving hardly anything for fuel. I did apply for food stamps so that is taken care of (hard on my pride). So I guess I’m asking for around $11,000.00 which, when I write the number down kinda shocks me. I’m sure there are others out there that are in a more desperate place than us. But it doesn’t hurt to ask, right? So thank you so much for all of the help you’ve already given other folks. Hopefully, prayerfully you can see your way clear to help us as well.

Sincerely,
Larry Snell