Renew several lives leveled by illnesses
Donation protected
My family's story
My life is the least of these concerns. My last full-time paid employment was with a real estate broker who'd been in business for 35 years. He went under when the housing bubble collapsed and I was laid off in 2007. I got by on savings, odd jobs and unemployment for the next two years. In 2009, I went to visit my Mum in Florida and shortly thereafter, she was afflicted with several severe maladies, then broke her hip. A three month visit became four years serving as her primary caregiver. A younger sister was my primary relief throughout as we worked at returning our Mum to a reasonable level of health stability.
I've worked construction and in social services and have freelanced as a writer and even as a blogger. The hours and work and worries as a caregiver far exceeded any work I'd ever done. But some things, you just have to do. We'd promised our Mum she'd never go to a nursing home and we lived up to that.
And while doing that, one night in September 2012, a thief broke into my truck and stole over $2,000 of the tools I previously had made my living by.
My younger sister had been a truckdriver with her husband. A heart illness forced him into retirement, and she started school, intending to become a nurse. When Mum was in rehab for the broken hip, she begged my sister to leave school to provide more care for her. My sister complied.
Early in 2013, her husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It was removed, but within a few months, the cancer came back. She lost him last month. And since he died before starting social security, she has a small two bedroom home, but zero income. So that's the first part of what I'm trying to raise funds for, to get her property taxes paid and obtain some money for her to survive on till she lands a job or re-enrolls in school. I'm trying to raise $6,500 for her.
Meanwhile, our Mum, now 89, has been moved to another sister's home, in Massachusetts. I moved on to Wisconsin last August, where my youngest daughter was living, as she was facing very difficult circumstances. She's had numerous internal problems since she was in middle school (kidneys, gall bladder and more). A little over three years ago, she began having epileptic seizures. Until she can go 90 days seizure-free, she's not permitted to drive and there's no bus transportation in the small town we reside in. And she has three young children.
She works about 26 hours a week as a chiropractor's assistant. Because of her health insurance plan, other than her primary care physician, she has to travel far for other needs. Her dentist is 30 miles away. Her neurologist, for the seizures, is 150 miles away. Not only do I serve as her driver for her job and her health appointments, but when the kids are here, I have to be here, in case she has a seizure. Those responsibilities make it presently impossible for me to seek full-time work outside of the home. Which means we're barely hanging on by our fingernails financially.
The first p/t job I found here was yard work and home maintenance work for a wonderful lady. However, she is nearing her life's end due to cancer, too. I bring her food and music to ease her final days. And I'm very grateful that I got to know her, as briefly as I have, because she's just one of those special, rare people that adds value to this life.
At this point, due to other grandparents and one community resource, my grandkids will have Christmas. We don't have enough money for a Christmas tree. (Update: a friend sent money for a tree just 5 days before Christmas) And January is looking bleak because my daughter's neurologist has her scheduled for a week's stay at a hospital where they'll try to record one of her seizures in the ongoing effort to find a remedy. So she'll miss a week of work/income.
I'm seeking $6,500 for her. This will pay for her transportation costs (currently, my 2000 Ford pickup, which only gets 11 MPG.) It will help get her youngest, now 2-1/2, into daycare. It will cover her expected lost income in January. It will pay off over $2,000 in past debts and leave approximately $2,500 for her to buy a more economical car.
So the first $13,000 that I raise, or any smaller amount that may come, will be split evenly between my daughter and my sister, so they can rebuild their lives from there. In the past, I have been innovative, resourceful and productive enough to find ways to help my family through every crisis, but the onslaught of medical needs has just been too overwhelming to do so without seeking outside help. (And I don't mean to be misleading about anything. Along the way, there have been times when my Mum, my late father, and other siblings and friends have lent a hand with these problems or helped me through a difficult time. I am lucky and grateful for that.)
The remaining $7,000 I'm trying to obtain: for all of the transaction fees utilizing this site and the online money processor I anticipate nearly $2,000 will go to cover that. The other $5,000 I seek to put myself in better position to maximize my future income.
I will need a new computer, I need to pay for some techie work to repair and host a website, I need a few hundred for a tax accountant to settle a past tax filing, I need a little truck repair done, I need about $100 in work clothing, and several hundred more to replace some oft-used tools that were stolen, as I previously mentioned. And I need about $1500 for some overdue dental work.
As I said at the outset, though, my needs will come last. In my own past ventures and in volunteer work for charitable organizations, I've never raised more than $2,500, so I have no idea how much I can successfully raise through this site.
I can only assure any and all donors that the funds will be used carefully and effectively to help each of us resume productive lives, and that we will be grateful for any help, no matter how large or small.
My sister and daughter don't even know I'm making this effort. And if I reach this seemingly impossible goal, I feel certain, within a couple of years, I could even pay some of this back.
Thank you for your consideration of my request. And may you and your family have a great Christmas and/or any other holiday you celebrate in this season.
Sincerely;
Kevin Hayden
My life is the least of these concerns. My last full-time paid employment was with a real estate broker who'd been in business for 35 years. He went under when the housing bubble collapsed and I was laid off in 2007. I got by on savings, odd jobs and unemployment for the next two years. In 2009, I went to visit my Mum in Florida and shortly thereafter, she was afflicted with several severe maladies, then broke her hip. A three month visit became four years serving as her primary caregiver. A younger sister was my primary relief throughout as we worked at returning our Mum to a reasonable level of health stability.
I've worked construction and in social services and have freelanced as a writer and even as a blogger. The hours and work and worries as a caregiver far exceeded any work I'd ever done. But some things, you just have to do. We'd promised our Mum she'd never go to a nursing home and we lived up to that.
And while doing that, one night in September 2012, a thief broke into my truck and stole over $2,000 of the tools I previously had made my living by.
My younger sister had been a truckdriver with her husband. A heart illness forced him into retirement, and she started school, intending to become a nurse. When Mum was in rehab for the broken hip, she begged my sister to leave school to provide more care for her. My sister complied.
Early in 2013, her husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It was removed, but within a few months, the cancer came back. She lost him last month. And since he died before starting social security, she has a small two bedroom home, but zero income. So that's the first part of what I'm trying to raise funds for, to get her property taxes paid and obtain some money for her to survive on till she lands a job or re-enrolls in school. I'm trying to raise $6,500 for her.
Meanwhile, our Mum, now 89, has been moved to another sister's home, in Massachusetts. I moved on to Wisconsin last August, where my youngest daughter was living, as she was facing very difficult circumstances. She's had numerous internal problems since she was in middle school (kidneys, gall bladder and more). A little over three years ago, she began having epileptic seizures. Until she can go 90 days seizure-free, she's not permitted to drive and there's no bus transportation in the small town we reside in. And she has three young children.
She works about 26 hours a week as a chiropractor's assistant. Because of her health insurance plan, other than her primary care physician, she has to travel far for other needs. Her dentist is 30 miles away. Her neurologist, for the seizures, is 150 miles away. Not only do I serve as her driver for her job and her health appointments, but when the kids are here, I have to be here, in case she has a seizure. Those responsibilities make it presently impossible for me to seek full-time work outside of the home. Which means we're barely hanging on by our fingernails financially.
The first p/t job I found here was yard work and home maintenance work for a wonderful lady. However, she is nearing her life's end due to cancer, too. I bring her food and music to ease her final days. And I'm very grateful that I got to know her, as briefly as I have, because she's just one of those special, rare people that adds value to this life.
At this point, due to other grandparents and one community resource, my grandkids will have Christmas. We don't have enough money for a Christmas tree. (Update: a friend sent money for a tree just 5 days before Christmas) And January is looking bleak because my daughter's neurologist has her scheduled for a week's stay at a hospital where they'll try to record one of her seizures in the ongoing effort to find a remedy. So she'll miss a week of work/income.
I'm seeking $6,500 for her. This will pay for her transportation costs (currently, my 2000 Ford pickup, which only gets 11 MPG.) It will help get her youngest, now 2-1/2, into daycare. It will cover her expected lost income in January. It will pay off over $2,000 in past debts and leave approximately $2,500 for her to buy a more economical car.
So the first $13,000 that I raise, or any smaller amount that may come, will be split evenly between my daughter and my sister, so they can rebuild their lives from there. In the past, I have been innovative, resourceful and productive enough to find ways to help my family through every crisis, but the onslaught of medical needs has just been too overwhelming to do so without seeking outside help. (And I don't mean to be misleading about anything. Along the way, there have been times when my Mum, my late father, and other siblings and friends have lent a hand with these problems or helped me through a difficult time. I am lucky and grateful for that.)
The remaining $7,000 I'm trying to obtain: for all of the transaction fees utilizing this site and the online money processor I anticipate nearly $2,000 will go to cover that. The other $5,000 I seek to put myself in better position to maximize my future income.
I will need a new computer, I need to pay for some techie work to repair and host a website, I need a few hundred for a tax accountant to settle a past tax filing, I need a little truck repair done, I need about $100 in work clothing, and several hundred more to replace some oft-used tools that were stolen, as I previously mentioned. And I need about $1500 for some overdue dental work.
As I said at the outset, though, my needs will come last. In my own past ventures and in volunteer work for charitable organizations, I've never raised more than $2,500, so I have no idea how much I can successfully raise through this site.
I can only assure any and all donors that the funds will be used carefully and effectively to help each of us resume productive lives, and that we will be grateful for any help, no matter how large or small.
My sister and daughter don't even know I'm making this effort. And if I reach this seemingly impossible goal, I feel certain, within a couple of years, I could even pay some of this back.
Thank you for your consideration of my request. And may you and your family have a great Christmas and/or any other holiday you celebrate in this season.
Sincerely;
Kevin Hayden
Organizer
Kevin Hayden
Organizer
