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MS/Fibromyalgia Warrior needs help!

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I can't believe I am writing this. I NEVER tell my business like THIS! I have always been able to take care of myself  and now due to my health and the damage it has caused financially, I just can’t keep up and get back on track. I have heard of so many stories about people making pages for support so i figured why not finally ask for a little help.
 
Multiple sclerosis has caused me to lose numerous jobs because when you get up on a daily, you don't know if you can walk, talk, think straight, concentrate or even remember your job, or if you will just have a normal day and I deal with a lot of body aches but mainly fatigue but ever since I was diagnosed in 2009 (but had it years before i just never had the insurance to get all tests done), it has been a whirlwind. I have always managed to get by but things were always due but I feel myself getting worse energy wise but by the grace of God, I have held my own all these years.
 
After losing my previous job a few years ago (which i never got a write up, and i was a top performer there and made a few errors that didnt hurt the client in any way, it was a system error) with a well-known mortgage company, it caused me to get evicted. I was hired through a TEMP AGENCY with them when they just ended my assignment. Before they ended my assignment with the mortgage company, I had a small garnishment and the temp agency just start taking money out of my bonus which was what i used for rent and it caused me to get evicted because I couldn't catch up because they didn't notify me that they got a court order to start taking money from my commission checks, nor did I receive anything that it needed to come out of my commission check that I was making at the time, which wasnt alot but i was able to pay some bills. Unfortunately, there were no friends or family that had the money to help me at the time, so I lost everything and couldnt pay for the storage that i put everything in so i lost everything i EVER owned, worked so hard for and all of the memories, pics of family friends and alot of things from the birth of my children that cant be replaced. I had to move all the way to Ypsilanti which would be an hour away from the job I'm at now and a few other ones I have had and I drive an hour to work every day single day making me past exhausted, which may be a breeze for some.
 
I have been pushing so hard for so long and don’t ask for help because of my pride. Times are getting harder and I have 2 children to help support. My day goes as follows, I have to get up at 830am, leave for work at 915 am and drive a hour to work, and due to the eviction, it’s hard to move until I can pay the balance but I can’t because I have current things to try to catch up on and maintain. I was able to get another car because I need that in order to pay anything but because all of this and hospital bills, student loans from me trying to get a higher education but wasn’t able to finish due to MS and energy. My car note is a pretty much as much as a rental payment (in my opinion) because of the repo from getting laid off from old job  and no one would give me a decent note, so i took what i could and regret it to this day but i had no choice and now it needs a lot of work now because it’s trying to keep up with the roads and travel of Detroit and this hour drive to work and then to home. For the first time, I am asking for help. I am without a home for the first time and an abnormal car note  that I need to pay off asap and the money I save from the note can go to the maintenance that the car needs so i can move closer to this amazing new job i have now that I want to retire from. My income now is limited due to car note, gas for everyday travel, garnishment for last car, kids, taxes, health insurance, MS meds, doctor visits etc, co pays, past medical bills that are still rising for the portion that insurance dont cover. So im not able to even move right now without help.

This is a little information on MS.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause the nerves themselves to deteriorate or become permanently damaged.
Signs and symptoms of MS vary widely and depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected. Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.
There's no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, treatments can help speed recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.

Risk factors for the disease include being between 15-60 years of age; women have about two to three times the risk for multiple sclerosis than men.
Multiple sclerosis symptoms and signs depend on where the nerves are demyelinated and may include
visual changes including double vision or loss of vision
numbness,
tingling or weakness (weakness may range from mild to severe),
paralysis,
vertigo or dizziness,
erectile dysfunction (ED, impotence)
pregnancy problems,
incontinence (or conversely, urinary retention),
muscle spasticity,
incoordination of muscles,
tremor,
painful involuntary muscle contractions,
slurred speech, and
fatigue.
There are four types of multiple sclerosis:
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),
the most common type), secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS),
primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and
progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis (PRMS).

I have Relapsing Remitting MS. Most days, physically, I’m ok but everyday I deal with horrible symptoms which makes it hard for me to focus, full body aches and weak legs but I still manage to get up and do that schedule to the best of my abilty. I’m going through the worst depression because I had to go this route to get help and I swear to you I’m not used to this. I have suffered long enough. For years. I’m so tired. I just need a fresh start while I go through this daily stress and struggle of this disease. I am not a lazy person whatsoever, I don’t know how to be. I am in debt about $50-60,000 and that is due to majority hospital bills, student loans, medication, my first  eviction, when i have been on my own for years,  utility bills and 2 cars to pay off and 1 that needs severe maintenance and I don’t have financial help.

Any donations would be appreciated. My body is slowly getting worse and so much has changed already. In 5 years i was told i may have trouble walking and get things back in order just want to get better with this fresh start. There is so much to do and so much to fix and God I am trying but I just can’t do it alone anymore. The challenges from this disease has taken over my life and I refuse to let it have it anymore. I’m a good person and I see so many people around me being blessed and I just want my shot to have something too and once I have this fresh start, I will prove to everyone how I am a superwoman that is just going through a natural struggle and I realize NOW there is nothing wrong with trying to reach out for a little help.
 
I used to be embarrassed just to ask someone for $20, now I have to take a shot, stay positive and God will bless my heart. I know alot of people dont understand why i am writing this page, especially when no one knows my story, this is the first time i actually told my story to this degree.

UPDATE early 2017: just diagnosed with fibromyalgia as well! here is a link for some information on fibromyalgia to get an idea of what im facing along with having MS.  http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/default.htm

 This will be hard to keep up officially now. How can i do this by myself? Some days i wont even be able to keep up making it to work. Just need to move closer to take the edge off a little and due to all this and my push everyday. Im trying soooo hard just to get a fresh start, wipe all the debt and medical bills clean and that will take some stress off which doesnt help the fibromyalgia. Any donations are appreciated. 

Update as of July 2017: As of April 12th, 2017, my wrist went completely out and I was diagnosed with tenosynovitis in my wrist and it took me off of work. So to add to back problems, Multiple Sclerosis, and FIbromyalgia, now I can't even type or write long without pain and swelling all the way up into my elbow and some basic things are a little difficult to do now strength wise. I have had numerous doctors appointments, numerous physical therapy appointments, I applied for workers comp due to it only happening when I was at work and i never had problems with my wrists before even when the other conditions were in full force just only when I type or use a mouse for a certain amount of time and even my braces and all other support stopped working as of April 12th. I've tried to do physical therapy to get stronger and it just wasn't working.  I was going to continue to go 3 days a week and stick with it, however, my workers comp case was denied. After a while of being on medical leave, my FMLA ran out and I ended up losing my job when FMLA ended but was told i could reapply when i improved. I lost my insurance at the end of June, and the insurance that was offered to me was Triple what I was paying before so obviously I won't be able to afford that and everyone is not able to receive  Medicaid. Since I have been denied workers comp (because they claimed that my wrist pain that took me off of work is due to my pre-existing conditions, which I disagree with) now I have to fight that, so I have been without any income since the last week of April. I haven't been able to pay any bills, my car is in the process of almost getting repossessed like my last one and even if it doesn't get repossessed, it needs so much work including brakes and I'm honestly scared to drive it now because the brakes need to be fixed. Everyone has their own bills and own problems, so unfortunately there has been limited support for me right now. I can't pay anything. I can't do anything. I'm finding out numerous things about my spine which is the reason why my back is so messed up. Spinal issues: I am dealing with an extra vertebrae, lipomas in my back, severe muscle sprains in my back, a slight bulging disc in my neck and back, facet hypertrophy, bulging disc in my back, degenerative disc disease.....just to name a few I haven't been able to sit without pain in over 5 years and now we're adding pain to my wrist as well. I have been doing customer service jobs for almost 15 years now and I love to do it and I'm very good at what I do but I can no longer sit at a desk and I can no longer type without the shooting pain into my arm. Its very frustrating to have all these things wrong and I don't look like anything is wrong with me whatsoever  because you cannot see MS, fibromyalgia or tenosynovitis but i can definitely feel it. I fought through all of this. Who knew my wrist would take me out of work and not officially MS or Fibromyalgia alone. I pushed myself every single day. I worked as hard as I could through my pain every single day. I drove an hour to work, did a full-time shift drove an hour home everyday sometimes went in on weekends to help. I pushed through and I was still able to do all of this with a smile on my face even though I felt so horrible every single day and barely had the energy to keep up, let alone do anything after work. I'm in the process now for waiting for a claim to be approved or denied but until then, bill collectors are calling, I don't have insurance for medication, I don't have money to go see a doctor or go to physical therapy leaving having to do my own personal Physical Therapy but it's not the same, even though I had Insurance there are still co-pays and money due that was just piling up because I did not have any income. the only thing that's holding me together right now is knowing the fact that my children are okay but the fact that I can't do as much for them right now, it brings on so much stress. So now, I am officially clarified as not being able to work right now and having too many health conditions to keep up and now I have to fight the disability process officially. I'm scared. I'm mad. I'm sad. I feel like I failed but for some reason I still know that God is sitting right next to me with this hand on my shoulders telling me everything is going to be okay. I'm asking for help until some financial decision is made which may take a while. I have been down this road before where MS has made me lose everything, completely everything, and was in the process at my last amazing job that i just lost of trying to get back on my feet from. I just came from a very good job where I would always do so well and work so hard and push myself so hard and my health messes up all of my fight all of my push and I'm trying my hardest not to give up and even though my fight is not the same and I'm dealing with the depression of all of this, there is still a part of me that is saying hold on.   Thank you so much for reading this, thank you so much if you donated, thank you so much if you wanted to and couldn't, thank you so much for believing me, caring for me enough to read this entire thing knowing that nothing about this is false, knowing I'm not trying to have a pity party this is real life and for the first time after I have helped other people for years, now is when I'm the one waving the white flag asking for a little bit of help right now 
God bless you all!
 
Jimeka Finley

Organizer

Jimeka Finley
Organizer
Lyndon Township, MI

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