My Brother's Keeper
Donation protected
In 2014 my brother was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. It's commonly known as Wegener's Vasculitis, but is also known as Wegener's Granulomatosis, Anca Associated Vasculitis, or Granulomatosis with polyangiitis.
Normal people can survive with this illness for decades as long as they eat right, take their medications, and go to all of their medical appointments. Though he may appear so, my brother is not of those who are considered "normal," and he needs assistance with medication reminders, medical appointments, and eating right. He was in special needs classes with a learning disability when we were younger and had even been in the Special Olympics. While he didn't succeed in academics, he was still able to provide for himself by doing manual labor throughout his life, that is until he became too ill to do so.
I documented my brother’s hospitalization and treatment in 2014 with photos I had uploaded to an album on Facebook. While the disease had gone into remission the complications caused by it have had a devastating affect on his quality of life, his ability to work, and the both of our credit reports. I'm in the process of helping him repair his credit from medical bills, (about $4000.00 worth) and mine stems from running up credit cards and a utility bill trying to take care of him, ( about $5000 worth,) as neither of us have had a strong support system, and the both of our parents are deceased.
I was a struggling single working mother raising two children in a small town when I found out my brother was seriously ill. I spent two weeks in the hospital with him that summer, and even held his hand through his first experience with chemotherapy and plasmapheresis to help encourage him to fight his battle and let him know he wasn't alone. The cost of transportation and parking was ridiculous to say the least, but at that time it was an hour drive from my home in Mt. Olive, Illinois to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
Once he was discharged he then came to stay with me. I made sure he ate healthier food, that he was able to make it to all of his medical appointments, most of them being in St. Louis, and a few of them in Springfield, Illinois, and even checked his blood pressure daily as I was instructed to and wrote it on the calendar they supplied us with to keep track of everything, including all of his appointments, as well organizing his many medications and reminding him when to take them. I bought him clothes, made sure they were cleaned, and that he had all of his necessary cleanliness supplies.
I had started a gofundme page back then to try to help with keeping up with the costs, but removed it because the very relatives who claimed to care for us, whilst not actually being there for us, had began to defame my character on the page in an effort to make a criminal out of me for reaching out to others for help, instead of offering assistance themselves. Some even went as far as to accuse my brother of lying about his condition and being addicted to drugs. We've since blocked all of them on facebook, but the damage had been done. The landlord was lacking compassion and found a judge to side with him over his lack of patience for waiting one more month to receive back rent money paid in full. They both assumed the worst of me whilst only caring about money for themselves, and that experience revealed to me how even some veterans consider money to be more important than the content of their own characters. So we were evicted out of the home, I had to let my children go live with their dad, and my brother was forced to go stay with whomever would take him in. I then had to further endure some severe injustices of the law, including witnessing more lawyers and judges utilizing the system to serve deceivers, and themselves, for their own benefits, which is another story completely, while my brother began to get even sicker as more complications arose from his illness. He's 36 years old now and currently complicated with end stage renal failure, congestive heart failure, COPD, autoimmune pancreatitis, hypertension, severe anxiety, and depression, all of which he's on medications for.
A part of me is still deeply distressed by the maltreatment I endured for speaking up about the injustice allowed by those in positions of trust and with power of authority, some who had even spoken words to me saying "We don't have time to listen to you," "You're guilty because you're in jail," "You're just playing the victim," and "I know these people and they're going to find you guilty anyway," and am aware it was their effort to get an easy guilty plea out of me despite my innocence, so that they could receive a paycheck without doing the work necessary to see to appropriate justice. I'm fully aware my civil rights have been violated. I suppose I just had to learn the hard way how predators will disguise themselves as protectors , because I witnessed the poor and orphaned preyed upon by those with "honorable" titles serving those with the most money or only bothering to listen to those dressed in suits or robes.
For that I choose to apply forgiveness, because I'm also fully aware that they all have their own harvests to reap in due time. As much as we like to think we have control over our own lives, we don’t and it’s a harsh reality to face. We may be wealthy, healthy, powerful, and wise one day, but wake up poor, on our deathbed, unaware of our own existence, and powerless to save ourselves the next. For one to have a shelter over their head, food in their belly, and be healthy enough to provide it all for oneself, and without stooping to the level of preying on anyone else, it's a lot to be grateful about. Not even the most influential leader with all the money in the world gets to tell nature what to do, and all of them who've deluded themselves into believing they're all powerful, will and do run and hide from its wrath too. We don't get to prevent a tornado from sweeping our homes from their foundations, or tell the earth not to quake, nor command a volcano to not erupt, or stop a tsunami from crashing ashore. For those in the suits and robes to go out of their way to silence me from speaking my piece and sharing my experiences just because they assumed I was a nobody worth nothing or that they, and I quote, "don't have time to listen to your rant," was a crime of their own doing.
After some of my worst experiences, this is something I thought of to say to anyone else I come across who may have found themselves in the company of people lacking compassion while also facing hard times. I also placed the statement on merchandise that can be purchased by clicking here .
My brother may never again be in a position to reimburse me, financially or otherwise, but when I was stranded on the side of the road, this is the brother who dropped what he was doing to come and assist me. When I was kidnapped and held in jail for a ransom by law enforcement based on the hearsay provided to them by government officials, this was the brother who came to visit me, and then when I was finally released and found myself homeless and robbed of nearly all of my belongings, this is the brother who sheltered me. - Matthew 25:40
Any monies received from this account will go towards paying off the debts accrued in the past from the costs of taking care of my brother, and for securing at least a small two bedroom home so that I can take proper care of him now and in the future. I work full time but have applied for a program that will enable me to be his aid. I just have to be patient because the waiting list is long, as is the list to get him into public housing. Until the $783.00 utility bill is paid, he won't be eligible for public housing, at least not according to their standards.
As for my children, they are older now but we are still in constant contact, and as long as they feel safe and happy, I have no reason to battle for their return. They know who their mother is and that I love them both so very much, that I have cared to take the time and make the effort to teach them to look after and support one another as siblings, not only with my words, but also by my example. I take the time and make the effort to be there for them too.
While some people consider the daily grind a battle to rise to the top at whatever it is they desire to accomplish in life, others have a full time job battling their own bodies just to survive. Click here to see how the behind the scenes battle of Ghostbusters & Stripes celebrity actor Harold Ramis caused a spotlight to be shined on, and led to the increased awareness around the world, of the autoimmune illness known as vasculitis.
Below is a photo with my younger brother holding a vintage Ghostbuster proton gun. While we were very sad to hear of his passing, we're extremely thankful for the existence of Harold Ramis, not only for how he entertained us as Egon Spengler from the time we were kids, but also for being an inspiration not to let even an illness like vasculitis, with no known cure as of yet, to impede our positive impacts on other people.
Below is footage of my brother during a plasmapheresis treatment.
To reiterate, these are past debts (before he was approved for disability,) that is affecting our ability to obtain housing in the present. We've been making payments on most of them with the income from my full time job and the limited disability income he was finally granted, but it has been and is still moving at a slow process. Our current shelter is only temporarily, and we need a place where we can both stay within the next month so that I can help him better manage his health. Grants for assistance with the utility bill are not available until October. It's down to $783.00 as of today 7-27-2019. That and $500 for the first month's rent, is the only thing stopping me (I know where to apply for assistance with the deposit ) from obtaining a two bedroom apartment to move into on August 1st.
Thank you so much for listening! Your time, consideration, and generosity is genuinely appreciated.
All the best,
Holly Rorie
Normal people can survive with this illness for decades as long as they eat right, take their medications, and go to all of their medical appointments. Though he may appear so, my brother is not of those who are considered "normal," and he needs assistance with medication reminders, medical appointments, and eating right. He was in special needs classes with a learning disability when we were younger and had even been in the Special Olympics. While he didn't succeed in academics, he was still able to provide for himself by doing manual labor throughout his life, that is until he became too ill to do so.
I documented my brother’s hospitalization and treatment in 2014 with photos I had uploaded to an album on Facebook. While the disease had gone into remission the complications caused by it have had a devastating affect on his quality of life, his ability to work, and the both of our credit reports. I'm in the process of helping him repair his credit from medical bills, (about $4000.00 worth) and mine stems from running up credit cards and a utility bill trying to take care of him, ( about $5000 worth,) as neither of us have had a strong support system, and the both of our parents are deceased.
I was a struggling single working mother raising two children in a small town when I found out my brother was seriously ill. I spent two weeks in the hospital with him that summer, and even held his hand through his first experience with chemotherapy and plasmapheresis to help encourage him to fight his battle and let him know he wasn't alone. The cost of transportation and parking was ridiculous to say the least, but at that time it was an hour drive from my home in Mt. Olive, Illinois to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
Once he was discharged he then came to stay with me. I made sure he ate healthier food, that he was able to make it to all of his medical appointments, most of them being in St. Louis, and a few of them in Springfield, Illinois, and even checked his blood pressure daily as I was instructed to and wrote it on the calendar they supplied us with to keep track of everything, including all of his appointments, as well organizing his many medications and reminding him when to take them. I bought him clothes, made sure they were cleaned, and that he had all of his necessary cleanliness supplies.
I had started a gofundme page back then to try to help with keeping up with the costs, but removed it because the very relatives who claimed to care for us, whilst not actually being there for us, had began to defame my character on the page in an effort to make a criminal out of me for reaching out to others for help, instead of offering assistance themselves. Some even went as far as to accuse my brother of lying about his condition and being addicted to drugs. We've since blocked all of them on facebook, but the damage had been done. The landlord was lacking compassion and found a judge to side with him over his lack of patience for waiting one more month to receive back rent money paid in full. They both assumed the worst of me whilst only caring about money for themselves, and that experience revealed to me how even some veterans consider money to be more important than the content of their own characters. So we were evicted out of the home, I had to let my children go live with their dad, and my brother was forced to go stay with whomever would take him in. I then had to further endure some severe injustices of the law, including witnessing more lawyers and judges utilizing the system to serve deceivers, and themselves, for their own benefits, which is another story completely, while my brother began to get even sicker as more complications arose from his illness. He's 36 years old now and currently complicated with end stage renal failure, congestive heart failure, COPD, autoimmune pancreatitis, hypertension, severe anxiety, and depression, all of which he's on medications for.
A part of me is still deeply distressed by the maltreatment I endured for speaking up about the injustice allowed by those in positions of trust and with power of authority, some who had even spoken words to me saying "We don't have time to listen to you," "You're guilty because you're in jail," "You're just playing the victim," and "I know these people and they're going to find you guilty anyway," and am aware it was their effort to get an easy guilty plea out of me despite my innocence, so that they could receive a paycheck without doing the work necessary to see to appropriate justice. I'm fully aware my civil rights have been violated. I suppose I just had to learn the hard way how predators will disguise themselves as protectors , because I witnessed the poor and orphaned preyed upon by those with "honorable" titles serving those with the most money or only bothering to listen to those dressed in suits or robes.
For that I choose to apply forgiveness, because I'm also fully aware that they all have their own harvests to reap in due time. As much as we like to think we have control over our own lives, we don’t and it’s a harsh reality to face. We may be wealthy, healthy, powerful, and wise one day, but wake up poor, on our deathbed, unaware of our own existence, and powerless to save ourselves the next. For one to have a shelter over their head, food in their belly, and be healthy enough to provide it all for oneself, and without stooping to the level of preying on anyone else, it's a lot to be grateful about. Not even the most influential leader with all the money in the world gets to tell nature what to do, and all of them who've deluded themselves into believing they're all powerful, will and do run and hide from its wrath too. We don't get to prevent a tornado from sweeping our homes from their foundations, or tell the earth not to quake, nor command a volcano to not erupt, or stop a tsunami from crashing ashore. For those in the suits and robes to go out of their way to silence me from speaking my piece and sharing my experiences just because they assumed I was a nobody worth nothing or that they, and I quote, "don't have time to listen to your rant," was a crime of their own doing.
After some of my worst experiences, this is something I thought of to say to anyone else I come across who may have found themselves in the company of people lacking compassion while also facing hard times. I also placed the statement on merchandise that can be purchased by clicking here .
My brother may never again be in a position to reimburse me, financially or otherwise, but when I was stranded on the side of the road, this is the brother who dropped what he was doing to come and assist me. When I was kidnapped and held in jail for a ransom by law enforcement based on the hearsay provided to them by government officials, this was the brother who came to visit me, and then when I was finally released and found myself homeless and robbed of nearly all of my belongings, this is the brother who sheltered me. - Matthew 25:40
Any monies received from this account will go towards paying off the debts accrued in the past from the costs of taking care of my brother, and for securing at least a small two bedroom home so that I can take proper care of him now and in the future. I work full time but have applied for a program that will enable me to be his aid. I just have to be patient because the waiting list is long, as is the list to get him into public housing. Until the $783.00 utility bill is paid, he won't be eligible for public housing, at least not according to their standards.
As for my children, they are older now but we are still in constant contact, and as long as they feel safe and happy, I have no reason to battle for their return. They know who their mother is and that I love them both so very much, that I have cared to take the time and make the effort to teach them to look after and support one another as siblings, not only with my words, but also by my example. I take the time and make the effort to be there for them too.
While some people consider the daily grind a battle to rise to the top at whatever it is they desire to accomplish in life, others have a full time job battling their own bodies just to survive. Click here to see how the behind the scenes battle of Ghostbusters & Stripes celebrity actor Harold Ramis caused a spotlight to be shined on, and led to the increased awareness around the world, of the autoimmune illness known as vasculitis.
Below is a photo with my younger brother holding a vintage Ghostbuster proton gun. While we were very sad to hear of his passing, we're extremely thankful for the existence of Harold Ramis, not only for how he entertained us as Egon Spengler from the time we were kids, but also for being an inspiration not to let even an illness like vasculitis, with no known cure as of yet, to impede our positive impacts on other people.
Below is footage of my brother during a plasmapheresis treatment.
To reiterate, these are past debts (before he was approved for disability,) that is affecting our ability to obtain housing in the present. We've been making payments on most of them with the income from my full time job and the limited disability income he was finally granted, but it has been and is still moving at a slow process. Our current shelter is only temporarily, and we need a place where we can both stay within the next month so that I can help him better manage his health. Grants for assistance with the utility bill are not available until October. It's down to $783.00 as of today 7-27-2019. That and $500 for the first month's rent, is the only thing stopping me (I know where to apply for assistance with the deposit ) from obtaining a two bedroom apartment to move into on August 1st.
Thank you so much for listening! Your time, consideration, and generosity is genuinely appreciated.
All the best,
Holly Rorie
Organizer
Holly Rorie
Organizer
Granite City, IL
