- D
When I stopped by to visit Sara Dennis a few weeks ago, her air conditioning unit (HVAC) had gone out. She had moved into the tiny guest bedroom in her home where a small, window mounted unit had been installed at another time when the same HVAC unit had initially begun acting up. She was trying to be upbeat and positive but at the time, our Redding temperatures had reached 109 degrees and the small unit was barely making a dent in the bedroom, let alone the rest of the house.
The main unit had finally given up after being repaired a few times and it was simply too old to be repaired again. Sara was trying to come up with the most inexpensive fix as possible, she was thinking about adding another small unit in her bedroom. I told her that my husband, Greg and I would love to help her get one installed and get her moved back into her own bedroom! But when I talked to Greg, he was pretty sure that the circuit breaker box wouldn’t be able to handle the additional electrical output of another air conditioner in that room. Sara works from home and already has a lot of electronics running most of the day. It could end up being a real problem and could quite possibly start a fire! That’s all she needs!
That's when this idea hit me, we need a Go Fund Me page for Sara! And that’s where you come in, where we all come in. Sara truly has been going through some pretty difficult things these past couple of years; she decided to take the plunge and purchase an adaptive mini-van because she was no longer able to wear her prosthetic legs (which has been a huge and difficult adjustment), and drive her Honda Civic, BOTH of her parents passed away just 20 days apart, and just as Sara was getting back into participating in her church community, Covid19 hit. Sara has already experienced so much isolation in her life because of her disability but this has really been poor timing.
And just when you think there aren’t a whole lot of ways to make matters worse, Sara also had a hearing before the Social Security Administration. At this present time, Sara is not able to make more than $1,260 (gross wages) a month or her Social Security Disability Benefits AND Medicare Insurance will be cancelled. Making $15.00 per hour, that means Sara may only work 84 hours per month. Sara had to present her case, hoping to have the amount of gross income allowed per month increased so that she would be able to have more money for out of pocket living expenses (which for her, also includes paying for help). Sara did her best to explain how her disability has actually become more severe in recent years; she can no longer wear her prosthetics, must use a scooter when she goes out (but cannot use it in her small house which is not ADA compliant), she cannot reach above typical counter height without her prosthetics, cannot carry things as she moves/crawls around her house, cannot do her own cleaning above her height while sitting on the floor, often cannot “walk” on her stumps due to the pain in her “knee joints" which were constructed when she was a toddler by a surgeon using a technique which he created, and those “knees” are no longer functioning as they should, progressively getting worse with age so that they are not able to weight-bear (and she cannot have knee replacements because she was not born with the typical bone structures to support replacements), AND she is experiencing more pain due to arthritis in her finger joints which were fused at birth, limiting her ability to grasp and carry/hold things. Housework, yardwork are two things which have become increasingly difficult.
The answer to the hearing? No. There seemed to be no empathy or understanding about Sara's situation. The amount Sara is making at this present time is barely enough to cover her mortgage and BASIC living expenses. There is nothing extra to pay for any type of care-giving, cleaning, maintenance or yard help. It's easy enough to judge and think that she should sell the home and move to an apartment. That would be easier, right? Wrong. When you are someone faced with this type of disability, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find an apartment which is affordable as well as ADA compliant or at least has simple, basic modifications which is what Sara has in her home now. Sara worked really hard in order to buy her own home several years ago and at the time, she was able to have a low, bathroom sink installed in her master bathroom, that's it. It is a very cute, modest older home in a safe neighborhood, in a quiet setting and she is able to work comfortably. She loves her little home!
There are several very costly things that Sara’s older home is in need of at this time, but she simply is not able to take care them on her own. The most immediate need is getting the HVAC unit replaced. Getting overly heated is very difficult on Sara’s health. Right now, I’m hoping to raise the $11,000 to pay for the new HVAC unit and IF we end up raising more, all extra money received would go towards needed maintenance on her home, like getting her roof replaced, repairing her damaged siding and painting, which is all so very important to Sara's well being. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to help Sara in this way?
Please consider being a part of this great opportunity to touch Sara’s life. We know that these are definitely uncertain times that the world is going through right now and many families and individuals have been impacted financially. If you are desiring to help, any contribution, no matter how large or small, would be a huge blessing!
The main unit had finally given up after being repaired a few times and it was simply too old to be repaired again. Sara was trying to come up with the most inexpensive fix as possible, she was thinking about adding another small unit in her bedroom. I told her that my husband, Greg and I would love to help her get one installed and get her moved back into her own bedroom! But when I talked to Greg, he was pretty sure that the circuit breaker box wouldn’t be able to handle the additional electrical output of another air conditioner in that room. Sara works from home and already has a lot of electronics running most of the day. It could end up being a real problem and could quite possibly start a fire! That’s all she needs!
That's when this idea hit me, we need a Go Fund Me page for Sara! And that’s where you come in, where we all come in. Sara truly has been going through some pretty difficult things these past couple of years; she decided to take the plunge and purchase an adaptive mini-van because she was no longer able to wear her prosthetic legs (which has been a huge and difficult adjustment), and drive her Honda Civic, BOTH of her parents passed away just 20 days apart, and just as Sara was getting back into participating in her church community, Covid19 hit. Sara has already experienced so much isolation in her life because of her disability but this has really been poor timing.
And just when you think there aren’t a whole lot of ways to make matters worse, Sara also had a hearing before the Social Security Administration. At this present time, Sara is not able to make more than $1,260 (gross wages) a month or her Social Security Disability Benefits AND Medicare Insurance will be cancelled. Making $15.00 per hour, that means Sara may only work 84 hours per month. Sara had to present her case, hoping to have the amount of gross income allowed per month increased so that she would be able to have more money for out of pocket living expenses (which for her, also includes paying for help). Sara did her best to explain how her disability has actually become more severe in recent years; she can no longer wear her prosthetics, must use a scooter when she goes out (but cannot use it in her small house which is not ADA compliant), she cannot reach above typical counter height without her prosthetics, cannot carry things as she moves/crawls around her house, cannot do her own cleaning above her height while sitting on the floor, often cannot “walk” on her stumps due to the pain in her “knee joints" which were constructed when she was a toddler by a surgeon using a technique which he created, and those “knees” are no longer functioning as they should, progressively getting worse with age so that they are not able to weight-bear (and she cannot have knee replacements because she was not born with the typical bone structures to support replacements), AND she is experiencing more pain due to arthritis in her finger joints which were fused at birth, limiting her ability to grasp and carry/hold things. Housework, yardwork are two things which have become increasingly difficult.
The answer to the hearing? No. There seemed to be no empathy or understanding about Sara's situation. The amount Sara is making at this present time is barely enough to cover her mortgage and BASIC living expenses. There is nothing extra to pay for any type of care-giving, cleaning, maintenance or yard help. It's easy enough to judge and think that she should sell the home and move to an apartment. That would be easier, right? Wrong. When you are someone faced with this type of disability, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find an apartment which is affordable as well as ADA compliant or at least has simple, basic modifications which is what Sara has in her home now. Sara worked really hard in order to buy her own home several years ago and at the time, she was able to have a low, bathroom sink installed in her master bathroom, that's it. It is a very cute, modest older home in a safe neighborhood, in a quiet setting and she is able to work comfortably. She loves her little home!
There are several very costly things that Sara’s older home is in need of at this time, but she simply is not able to take care them on her own. The most immediate need is getting the HVAC unit replaced. Getting overly heated is very difficult on Sara’s health. Right now, I’m hoping to raise the $11,000 to pay for the new HVAC unit and IF we end up raising more, all extra money received would go towards needed maintenance on her home, like getting her roof replaced, repairing her damaged siding and painting, which is all so very important to Sara's well being. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to help Sara in this way?
Please consider being a part of this great opportunity to touch Sara’s life. We know that these are definitely uncertain times that the world is going through right now and many families and individuals have been impacted financially. If you are desiring to help, any contribution, no matter how large or small, would be a huge blessing!