Help Kimberly Stay in Her Home & Fight Cancer

Kimberly appeared recently in Our Southern Souls and many have asked to help so we set up this page to help her with rent and some other small expenses while she fights cancer.... we have verified through multiple sources that her needs are accurate ... here is her full story :

Kimberly
“I moved to Gulf Shores because of my grandbaby. I worked at Rouses when it opened in Gulf Shores. My oldest son and his family got a better job opportunity and moved away. It was beautiful living close to the beach and I could afford it, so I stayed. I started having health problems two years ago. South Baldwin Medical Center told me I had a urinary tract infection and gave me antibiotics. I was working 10-12 hours a day and still having problems. I went back to the ER. I was dehydrated and they ran antibiotics through an IV. I didn't get better and went to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. They did a vaginal sonogram and thought I had cancer. They sent me to Dr. Diegmann. Bless his big ol' heart, I love him. He tapped me on the knee with his prescription pad and asked why it took so long to come for help. Three days later, he called and said get to Mitchell Cancer Center in Mobile. I had uterine cancer and because it took so long to catch it, the cancer spread through the lymph nodes and pelvis. I had 37 treatments with radiation. They also found I am in stage four cirrhosis of the liver and need a liver transplant. The cirrhosis came from chronic Hepatitis C. I was young and dumb and got homemade tattoos. I got Hepatitis C from a needle and never knew it. My liver is so far gone there is not much they can do.

I can't work anymore. I tried to stand and wash dishes, but I hurt so bad. The cost of living keeps going up. I have an old camper that I paid $1500 for two years ago. I worked so hard to get it. It didn't have hot water, but it was mine. The hottest two weeks of this summer, all of my outlets went out and the air conditioning froze up. The water pipe also busted. My son was worried about me living without AC and water and made me move in with him. We are living in his apartment in Daphne, but we are moving out Sunday before we are evicted Monday. We tried so hard to get up the rent money. The apartment manager is good people and she did everything she could. We should have been out last week, but she let us stay, hoping we could get the money. We are moving back to the camper next week. There are some holes we need to fix and we are going to try to get the water running again. I get $625 a month and $400 of that goes to the lot for the camper, but that includes everything. We don't have much. A bed and a chair in the living room. A lady gave me a mattress and I found box springs on the side of the road. There is no hot water in my camper and it was nice to take hot showers again.

I am on disability. It covers a lot of my health costs, but I couldn't afford the gas to get to treatments in Mobile. People bought me gas when I was on empty. There are so many good people in Baldwin County who are willing to help a stranger. I always taught my boys that kindness and the little things matter. Some Asians rode their bikes to CiCi's while we were eating there before I got sick. We left and their bikes had fallen over. I picked their bikes up. We are all in this together. It is hard to be the one who needs help.

I need to make this public. My son and I were going to treatment in Mobile five days a week in a truck with bald tires. I pulled into Wilson's Service Center in Spanish Fort and told them I need a tire, but I have no money. Gina put two tires on our truck and filled it up. God bless her. I went to her about this rent thing, but she couldn't help me. I was a stranger and I feel so small and bad because I crossed that boundary and asked her for more. She is a beautiful person and I couldn't be going to treatment and my son couldn't be going to his job without those tires. If you know her, tell her I am sorry I asked. I was just scared.

I am tired. I have lost all of my dignity and my pride is hurt because I worked all of my life. My son works and we shouldn't be in this situation needing help. Baldwin County has been so good to me. The Lord has my back. No matter how tough it gets, I always remind myself of what Jesus went through. My health is deteriorating, but I am in pretty good shape for the shape I am in. I got back for scans in February. The good Lord blessed me with a healthy body. The choices I made with tattoos caused my situation and I am paying the consequences. I won't get the liver transplant because I would have a hard time resting at night knowing someone else died for me to live or that someone else who hasn’t done the things I have done should have that liver . I try to eat right and do the best I can. When it is my time, it is my time.

I have friends not of this world. I am here and I am grateful, but I know where I am going after I die. I have donated myself to science so those bills doesn't pass down to my children. If Mitchell can use my body to help find a cure to help someone else, then that is what I am put here for. Use me to heal someone else, let's just get 'er done. I am tired of the humiliation, I just want my son to be okay.

The one thing I know is that you can't label pain. It doesn't matter if you live in the richest area and your bank account is full or if you live in a camper that doesn't have water, if it hurts, it hurts. We are the same. Our bank accounts don't make us who we are inside. That is why I am so thankful to the strangers in Baldwin County, Jenna, Ecumenical Ministries, Catholic Charities for caring about me.”

Kimberly's son Kyle

“I feel so bad that I am losing this apartment and can't give my mom a comfortable place to live in my last days. I lived with roommates in that apartment and everything was fine. They left to go to Colorado and transferred the apartment to me. I thought I could do it on my own and get my mom out her camper. Then the rods on my truck broke and had to pay $700 to fix that. If that didn't happen, we would have been okay. I have applied everywhere to get a second job, but it has been hard with taking mom to Mobile for all of her treatments. I was employee of the month at my new job last month, but then they had to cut our hours. I had only worked at Sonic Drive In all of my life, but I wanted another job to change learn new skills and one day make more than $20,000 a year. Things picked back up at work and I am getting more hours now, but it is too late for this apartment. The rent is $965 a month. They raised it from $925. We need $1500 for the rent, late fee, and light bill to stay. The eviction papers come on Monday. We are getting out Sunday so we don't have to pay the attorney fees and have an eviction on our record.

I do odd jobs for extra money. Yard work and flower beds. Mom is on the Section 8 housing waiting list and I am looking for an apartment $500 or $600 a month. But we are still going to have to wait and save for the first month’s rent. I have always worked, saved up, and bought the things I need. I thought I was getting on my feet, but something always sets me back.”

Eliza at Ridden Word ministry in Robertsdale
"I see so much of this in Baldwin County. Many of us are a paycheck away from being homeless. Once you are homeless, even if you have been living in an apartment, getting back into any housing situation is expensive. You have to have last month's rent, the first month's rent, utility deposits, garbage and water deposits to move in. That is $3,000. It is a hole that gets harder and harder to dig out of. Many people are struggling in this county, we just don't talk about it."

Eliza gave them food from Ridden Word's food pantry, a gas gift card, and a list of resources in Baldwin county. She also bought them dinner last night.