Worked for Walgreens for 14 years, then put myself through nursing school (became diabetic) and FINALLY got my RN.
Worked for a hospital in Northern Michigan for 18 months, moving from Nurse to Charge nurse quickly.
Then I got cancer. Insurance paid for some of the treatments, but not all (I SURVIVED!!!). The hospital, I thought, would be understanding and sympathetic, but I was wrong. They transferred me to a completely garbage job, making half of what I had been, even though I was still able to do the job I’d been doing.
Then things got worse. I had to go through a hysterectomy due to issues with the cancer treatment (survived THAT too), and during the recovery, started having completely insane symptoms that made it virtually impossible to work, and went on short-term, then long-term disability. Turns out that I somehow got Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS. I can no longer stand for more than a few minutes, sit for more than 5 minutes, or walk unassisted for more than 50 feet. Getting up from a seated position makes me feel like I just finished a 100-yard dash, and navigating simple things like moving a gallon of milk or walking to the bathroom leave me out of breath. Plus, it screwed up my internal thermometer, so now 70 degrees makes me sweat uncontrollably, and I need the AC blowing almost constantly during this heat to keep sweat from pouring into my eyes.
I went from being a charge nurse at a major hospital, taking care of dozens of patients and managing an entire staff of workers, camping on weekends, and basically being an active member of my neighborhood and community, to spending most of my life either in bed, or lying on a couch WISHING I could go for a walk outside.
Then things got worse. I managed to navigate the perils of Disability insurance, and the world of governmental aid, when my long-term disability insurance company decided that I wasn’t disabled anymore (?) and cancelled my claim. Luckily, I was able to get on SSD JUST after that, so I was still able to pay rent and eat and such, but that was about it, as the SSD monthly amount was less than HALF of the long-term disability.
During much of this time (about 3 years, to date), I have been working with a small savings, and credit cards to pay for everything. I am not HUGELY in debt on the cards, but that is about to change, as my savings is almost gone. My housing payment is over $1000 a month. Food Stamps are helping with food, but not enough. This last summer has been horrendous on my power bill, cuz of my heat problems. Suffice to say that I need help.
I’m just under $40k in debt, including medical bills, student loans, credit cards (3), and my car loan. SSD pays $1300. From this month on, that $40k in debt will increase by about $2k a month WITH SSD helping.
I am hoping that there might be someone out there with the heart and wherewithal to help me in my time of need. Anything helps. Thank you so much for reading.
Lisa
paypal.me/PrincessShyla