We have been married for 33 years, we are basically happy, and have three beautiful daughters (29, 24, and 16)! However, several years ago, daily life became difficult: We suffered in the 2008 housing crisis, losing our newly built home; my husband was/is a tradesman and those positions took a huge hit during that time. Shortly before that time, my husband opened a local restaurant/pub; this business also took a huge hit and he filed bankruptcy. While I had my own home administrative business that did quite well, this also took a huge hit – not because of the crisis, but because of health problems. In the 11 months from 2007 to 2008, my health just seemed to fall apart; in 11 months I had three major surgeries – neck fusion, total hysterectomy, and lumbar surgery. While I was recouping, my husband woke one morning in agony from his back, thus began the end of his career and the beginning of a very difficult financial road ahead. Although many back surgeries do not turn out as hoped, this was especially cruel on the part of the surgeon. It was to be a one-level fusion; however, after 14 months and the surgeon saying that it was healing, his pain level said otherwise. He saw many doctors/surgeons from then on and only one would explain what happened: The hardware the surgeon installed was not only NOT healing, it was loose in his back and grinding down on good tissue, resulting in an 11-hour corrective surgery for THREE levels! To sue a doctor sounds easier than it is and we had to weigh the options of losing permanent disability payments, pension payments, etc. versus what a lawsuit would financially gain for him; it was not worth it in the end. That was ten years ago, and not a day goes by that my husband is not in some sort of pain – and I’m not talking minimal pain either. He has had an internal stimulator installed to no avail, he gets steroid injections every three months, which only give about three weeks of relief, he takes mind-and-body altering medications that provide minimal relief, and his mental health is declining from the continual depression. For myself, I am looking “forward to” at least two more surgeries for my neck and lower back. Although the opportunities in our respective fields have returned to normal, because of our limited mobility and disabilities, consistent work is just not an option for either of us. We have not been able to get a leg-up on our credit scores due to the above scenarios and have been renting for over 13 years, our most recent house being the longest at six years. However, our landlord now wants to sell the house, understandably, and so we must move in two weeks (he has been great and gave us two months notice along with our security deposit back) but the market is unreal right now. What else is unreal is the cost of moving, not to mention the labor involved in packing, unpacking, loading, unloading, cleaning, etc. We have NEVER asked for money from any source of funding such as this, and we have been in some very bad predicaments over the past several years! We have managed (Lord knows, how) until now, but now we just find ourselves literally spent, wiped out, and weary!
Please, if anyone an help, we would be eternally grateful!