Please help me with medical expenses
Donation protected
I am a 64 yr.old disabled woman and am getting ready to have a Total Reverse Shoulder Replacement on April 11th,2019. I am alone without any family; no spouse, no children, no siblings, and all of my immediate relatives have passed away. My only income is Social Security which is $1017.00 per month and it all goes to living expenses.
I worked as a Nurse for 26 years before having to retire on disability. I suffer from 2 Auto-Immune disorders (Fibromyalgia and R.A.) which has caused Musculo-Skeletal degeneration involving my joints, muscles and nerves. I have had back surgery for ruptured discs and 2 joint replacements and am now facing another. This one will be different because I literally have no support system and absolutely no help. I must go through all of this on my own, and will be immobilized for 12 weeks. I am going to need rehabilitative therapy 3 days per week for 8 weeks and then it will taper down to 2 days per week for a total of 6 months . I am on a Medicare HMO plan and there is a $40.00 co-pay for each session once I begin therapy on an outpatient basis. I will not be able to drive for at least 2 months and possibly 3, which means I need to find transportation to all of these appointments and need to pay expenses for someone to take me. Gas prices in MI are currently averaging $2.94 per gallon and my car uses a half tank of gas per round trip .
I live in a small rural community 74 miles away from the Orthopedic surgeon and hospital where I am having the surgery. In home care is going to cost me $18.00 per hour and will average 4 to 6 hours a day and is not covered by Medicare. My HMO care manager made it very clear that any help that is not clinical is private pay. I was told that the surgeon may decide that I need to be placed in a skilled healthcare facility for 8 weeks and that is not an option. I have pets , and I cannot afford to board 4 animals for 8 weeks. They are the only family I have, and I'd rather recouperate at home with them.
I have sought help from the Dept. of Health and Human Services here in MI but the truth is that they could give a crap about disabled Seniors. I have dealt with the myriad of paperwork to try and obtain benefits and have been denied for Medicaid, food assistance, and cash assistance because I "make too much money". ($1,017.00 a month!)
I have always been independent and have worked from the age of 16 until I became disabled. I've never had to ask for anything in my life and to resort to asking now is killing me, but please...I desparately and urgently need your help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help you can offer.
I worked as a Nurse for 26 years before having to retire on disability. I suffer from 2 Auto-Immune disorders (Fibromyalgia and R.A.) which has caused Musculo-Skeletal degeneration involving my joints, muscles and nerves. I have had back surgery for ruptured discs and 2 joint replacements and am now facing another. This one will be different because I literally have no support system and absolutely no help. I must go through all of this on my own, and will be immobilized for 12 weeks. I am going to need rehabilitative therapy 3 days per week for 8 weeks and then it will taper down to 2 days per week for a total of 6 months . I am on a Medicare HMO plan and there is a $40.00 co-pay for each session once I begin therapy on an outpatient basis. I will not be able to drive for at least 2 months and possibly 3, which means I need to find transportation to all of these appointments and need to pay expenses for someone to take me. Gas prices in MI are currently averaging $2.94 per gallon and my car uses a half tank of gas per round trip .
I live in a small rural community 74 miles away from the Orthopedic surgeon and hospital where I am having the surgery. In home care is going to cost me $18.00 per hour and will average 4 to 6 hours a day and is not covered by Medicare. My HMO care manager made it very clear that any help that is not clinical is private pay. I was told that the surgeon may decide that I need to be placed in a skilled healthcare facility for 8 weeks and that is not an option. I have pets , and I cannot afford to board 4 animals for 8 weeks. They are the only family I have, and I'd rather recouperate at home with them.
I have sought help from the Dept. of Health and Human Services here in MI but the truth is that they could give a crap about disabled Seniors. I have dealt with the myriad of paperwork to try and obtain benefits and have been denied for Medicaid, food assistance, and cash assistance because I "make too much money". ($1,017.00 a month!)
I have always been independent and have worked from the age of 16 until I became disabled. I've never had to ask for anything in my life and to resort to asking now is killing me, but please...I desparately and urgently need your help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help you can offer.
Organizer
Sharon Warren
Organizer
Shelby, MI
