Epileptic Married Couple Needs Help
Donation protected
I'm Mrs. Christina Fulmer and my husband is Thomas. We were married 6-15-2016; and we have had a FUN MARRIAGE except for the financial end. We both have Epilepsy; and I myself also have Anxiety and Depression and am presently being tested for Fibromyalgia. My counselor has said that it would be good for me to get a service dog to decrease the anxiety and depression I deal with; but we don't have the money to pay 100% of our rent, let alone the price of taking care of a dog.
We are living off of $700 a month from SSI. We use most of that to pay 2/3 of our apt rent, and the rest of the money has to be used to refill our Rx meds, get house cleansers, toilet paper and bathing supplies...we wish they would change part of our foodstamps to pay for the other supplies.
I won't let my husband leave home without his cane, because he has a hard time balancing himself; and the last thing I need is for him to end up in a hospital.
I've looked all over the local adds for a cheaper apt., but all the others in our county cost more than what we pay now.
We are finally updated with our apartment rent, but we are still more than $500 behind on our electric bill.
We can't afford to remain where we are. We want to avoid ending up in a shelter home. We live in Lake County, Indiana (just south of Lake Michigan), and the more affordable apartments are in Indianapolis...which is where my most important doctor is located at (a 2-3 hr drive from us), my epileptologyst who put me in brain surgery 7-8 yrs ago to implant a RNS (http://www.wxyz.com/news/metro-detroit-father-overcomes-battle-with-epilepsy-with-brain-pacemaker) in my brain to help decrease my number of seizures; before surgery I was having up to 30 seizures per month, now I have 1-2 per week; sometimes a full week with none at all, but I still have the auras (a feeling that tells me I might be getting ready to have a seizure) and I'm the first one in Indiana to have the RNS implanted in the brain. I still need to have every 6 month checkups with that dr and can't afford the 2-3 hr drive it takes to get down there.
We need a circle of strong men who are willing to help us move down there; people who are willing to send gas money to get us there; and people who are willing to rent something like a U-Haul truck for us to be able to move; money to fill out the applications for a more affordable apt; and money for the down payment of a new apt.
We've both filled out job applications or given our resumes to more than 50 places that are within walking distance from our present home (due to not being able to drive), and nobody has been willing to hire either of us.
Once we get settled in Indianapolis, IN. we will need enough to live off of until someone hires us and we find an affordable apartment to live in; because we might temporarily need to live in a motel if a Shelter Home for married couples isn't available in Indianapolis when we arive there before the end of December 2018.
One March 12, 2018, we will be seeing our lawyer and a judge; to find out if the judge will be willing to make sure Thomas starts recieving SSI.
I, Christina, am Thomas' wife. I'm here to give you my perspective of Thomas' health condition.
Thomas has had “Epilepsy” ever since the middle of elementary school (we went to elementary school together). Back then is when he was diagnosed as “Epileptic” due to his sister and mother finding him in seizures.
The type of seizures Thomas has now are much worse than the ones he had back then. Now he has “convulsive” seizures with no aura to warn him. He starts by staring in space, then falls to the floor and shakes convulsively with no way to stop it. All that can be done is to let it take it's full course. Sometimes it causes him to bump into things that hurt him and end up needing to dial 911 for help. Once the seizure is finished, he requires 2-3 hours of a nap; then he will feel like he's starving when he wakes us.
On October 7, 2013 and before he was better than he is now. It was that evening, when we arrived home from errands, Thomas walked down the stairs of our apartment building to check the mail-box (we live on the 2nd floor). Due to the fact it was taking him longer than usual to come back inside, I was concerned, so I walked down to check on him. I found the key chain on the front floor, then looked down the next flight of stairs that goes to basement level and found Thomas flat on his belly with his head in a huge puddle of blood coming out of his eyes, ears, nose, scalp, and mouth. I went into an anxiety attack, screaming and crying; not knowing if he was dead or alive. I then ran upstairs to dial 911 for help.
When the ambulance arrived, they allowed me to ride in the front seat, due to the fact that we BOTH have epilepsy and NEITHER of us drive. When we arrived at the ER, the blood that was all over Thomas was scaring me all the more; making me feel that he wasn't going to survive. I begged the nurses that were busy to give me lots of towels, water and soap, so that I could bathe the blood off of Thomas.
Thomas spent an entire 6 months in the hospital; and his first 3 or more weeks he remained in a coma. They took extensive tests on him to figure out if it was a convulsion or a stroke that put Thomas in that position. That question was never solved. They just started treating his epilepsy.
Thomas had to get extensive treatment to be able to be well enough to return home. He had to go through talking exercises, finger exercises, arm and leg exercises, and finally walking exercises. Thomas was finally able to use a walker when they sent him back home. Before coming home, he couldn't even move; always needed help changing positions; and needed others to bathe him. I (his wife) am a licensed cosmetologist, so every weekend while visiting him, I would shave him; and every month I would update his haircut.
When Thomas finally came home with his walker, I helped him graduate to a cane. Presently, Thomas can only do simple things: wash dishes, scrub bathtub, scrub sink, scrub toilet, put groceries away, cook his own meals, put laundry in baskets or in wash machine, go for a 20-30 minute walk, borrow the library computer...etc.
Thomas' pain isn't constant. It comes and goes. Every Saturday I shave Thomas' whiskers. He's capable of doing it himself; but his eyesight isn't good enough for him to get every whisker, which is why I do it for him. When he is due for me to give him a haircut, I have to be more gentle than for a normal person. The right side of his skull still hurts him when it is touched. When I shave him, his right cheek still hurts him. This is because the x-rays in October 2013 shown that most of the bones on the right side of his head were shattered; they said that those kind of bones can only heal on their own. It's not like being able to get a cast on.
Thomas' eyesight is worse than before his fall. Presently, he can't see well enough to do a good job at any kind of housework he tries to help with. He has to cover his right eye to see clearly. He still has pain in his eyes. It hurts his eyes to spend too much time using a computer.
Thomas has a lack of hearing clearly on his right side. I (his wife) have to make sure I'm on his left side when I'm trying to talk to him.
Also, to get into our apartment, we have to climb up a flight of two outside stairs, then eight inside stairs. The outside ones has no railing(s), but the inner ones have two. Once we are in the lower foyer, I take Thomas' cane away from him and make him hold on tight to both of the railings on the way up to our apartment. He comes with me when grocery shopping so that he can get his exercise and so that he can help me find what he wants to eat. While I'm taking the cart down each isle to load it with what is listed, Thomas (with his cane) will go grab whatever he wants to eat and brings it to me. We each have our own separate cell phones, so that we can contact each other when we are apart, so he will dial my number to ask me what isle I'm in so he can bring me his food. Once we arrive home from getting groceries, I carry the first few bags up behind him, while he goes to unlock the door for me. Then he remains inside while I and our transportation helper carry the rest of the bags up.
I haven't seen Thomas have any side-effects from his present Rx Medication; and he says he doesn't think he's having any.
If anyone were to give Thomas employment; I feel that he is only well enough to do simple things. Such as: door greeter, cashier, librarian, bank teller, anything that requires sitting at a computer.
Yet now, even though we have both handed a copy of our resumes to more than 50 places that are within walking distance from home, still to this day NOBODY has been willing to hire either of us.
Neither one of us drive; because we BOTH have epilepsy. Thomas' started during elementary school; mine is due to the brain being damaged from forceps at birth. Because of this, the state law requires us to have permission from a neurologist to drive; so we both have no choice but to either walk or ask friends to help us run our errands and take us to appointments.
Thomas had no insurance at all until his 6 months in the hospital, while his caseworker got him applied for insurance and went through a lot of red tapes to get him on insurance that would cover everything for Thomas; but once we got married on June 15, 2016, Thomas ended up loosing most of his insurance and I ended up loosing my dad's part of my SSI & SSDI.
Now, we are financially living on the edge of a cliff...trying not to end up in a shelter home.
I plead unto you to have mercy on us and help us.
PLEASE PRAY that we win this case; so that we can finally afford to move down to Indianapolis in a cheaper apartment!
PLEASE HELP A.S.A.P.
$10, $20, $30, $40, $50, $60, $70, $80, $90, $100...etc. HOWEVER MUCH YOU CAN AFFORD TO ADD TO OUR FUNRAISER.
We are living off of $700 a month from SSI. We use most of that to pay 2/3 of our apt rent, and the rest of the money has to be used to refill our Rx meds, get house cleansers, toilet paper and bathing supplies...we wish they would change part of our foodstamps to pay for the other supplies.
I won't let my husband leave home without his cane, because he has a hard time balancing himself; and the last thing I need is for him to end up in a hospital.
I've looked all over the local adds for a cheaper apt., but all the others in our county cost more than what we pay now.
We are finally updated with our apartment rent, but we are still more than $500 behind on our electric bill.
We can't afford to remain where we are. We want to avoid ending up in a shelter home. We live in Lake County, Indiana (just south of Lake Michigan), and the more affordable apartments are in Indianapolis...which is where my most important doctor is located at (a 2-3 hr drive from us), my epileptologyst who put me in brain surgery 7-8 yrs ago to implant a RNS (http://www.wxyz.com/news/metro-detroit-father-overcomes-battle-with-epilepsy-with-brain-pacemaker) in my brain to help decrease my number of seizures; before surgery I was having up to 30 seizures per month, now I have 1-2 per week; sometimes a full week with none at all, but I still have the auras (a feeling that tells me I might be getting ready to have a seizure) and I'm the first one in Indiana to have the RNS implanted in the brain. I still need to have every 6 month checkups with that dr and can't afford the 2-3 hr drive it takes to get down there.
We need a circle of strong men who are willing to help us move down there; people who are willing to send gas money to get us there; and people who are willing to rent something like a U-Haul truck for us to be able to move; money to fill out the applications for a more affordable apt; and money for the down payment of a new apt.
We've both filled out job applications or given our resumes to more than 50 places that are within walking distance from our present home (due to not being able to drive), and nobody has been willing to hire either of us.
Once we get settled in Indianapolis, IN. we will need enough to live off of until someone hires us and we find an affordable apartment to live in; because we might temporarily need to live in a motel if a Shelter Home for married couples isn't available in Indianapolis when we arive there before the end of December 2018.
One March 12, 2018, we will be seeing our lawyer and a judge; to find out if the judge will be willing to make sure Thomas starts recieving SSI.
I, Christina, am Thomas' wife. I'm here to give you my perspective of Thomas' health condition.
Thomas has had “Epilepsy” ever since the middle of elementary school (we went to elementary school together). Back then is when he was diagnosed as “Epileptic” due to his sister and mother finding him in seizures.
The type of seizures Thomas has now are much worse than the ones he had back then. Now he has “convulsive” seizures with no aura to warn him. He starts by staring in space, then falls to the floor and shakes convulsively with no way to stop it. All that can be done is to let it take it's full course. Sometimes it causes him to bump into things that hurt him and end up needing to dial 911 for help. Once the seizure is finished, he requires 2-3 hours of a nap; then he will feel like he's starving when he wakes us.
On October 7, 2013 and before he was better than he is now. It was that evening, when we arrived home from errands, Thomas walked down the stairs of our apartment building to check the mail-box (we live on the 2nd floor). Due to the fact it was taking him longer than usual to come back inside, I was concerned, so I walked down to check on him. I found the key chain on the front floor, then looked down the next flight of stairs that goes to basement level and found Thomas flat on his belly with his head in a huge puddle of blood coming out of his eyes, ears, nose, scalp, and mouth. I went into an anxiety attack, screaming and crying; not knowing if he was dead or alive. I then ran upstairs to dial 911 for help.
When the ambulance arrived, they allowed me to ride in the front seat, due to the fact that we BOTH have epilepsy and NEITHER of us drive. When we arrived at the ER, the blood that was all over Thomas was scaring me all the more; making me feel that he wasn't going to survive. I begged the nurses that were busy to give me lots of towels, water and soap, so that I could bathe the blood off of Thomas.
Thomas spent an entire 6 months in the hospital; and his first 3 or more weeks he remained in a coma. They took extensive tests on him to figure out if it was a convulsion or a stroke that put Thomas in that position. That question was never solved. They just started treating his epilepsy.
Thomas had to get extensive treatment to be able to be well enough to return home. He had to go through talking exercises, finger exercises, arm and leg exercises, and finally walking exercises. Thomas was finally able to use a walker when they sent him back home. Before coming home, he couldn't even move; always needed help changing positions; and needed others to bathe him. I (his wife) am a licensed cosmetologist, so every weekend while visiting him, I would shave him; and every month I would update his haircut.
When Thomas finally came home with his walker, I helped him graduate to a cane. Presently, Thomas can only do simple things: wash dishes, scrub bathtub, scrub sink, scrub toilet, put groceries away, cook his own meals, put laundry in baskets or in wash machine, go for a 20-30 minute walk, borrow the library computer...etc.
Thomas' pain isn't constant. It comes and goes. Every Saturday I shave Thomas' whiskers. He's capable of doing it himself; but his eyesight isn't good enough for him to get every whisker, which is why I do it for him. When he is due for me to give him a haircut, I have to be more gentle than for a normal person. The right side of his skull still hurts him when it is touched. When I shave him, his right cheek still hurts him. This is because the x-rays in October 2013 shown that most of the bones on the right side of his head were shattered; they said that those kind of bones can only heal on their own. It's not like being able to get a cast on.
Thomas' eyesight is worse than before his fall. Presently, he can't see well enough to do a good job at any kind of housework he tries to help with. He has to cover his right eye to see clearly. He still has pain in his eyes. It hurts his eyes to spend too much time using a computer.
Thomas has a lack of hearing clearly on his right side. I (his wife) have to make sure I'm on his left side when I'm trying to talk to him.
Also, to get into our apartment, we have to climb up a flight of two outside stairs, then eight inside stairs. The outside ones has no railing(s), but the inner ones have two. Once we are in the lower foyer, I take Thomas' cane away from him and make him hold on tight to both of the railings on the way up to our apartment. He comes with me when grocery shopping so that he can get his exercise and so that he can help me find what he wants to eat. While I'm taking the cart down each isle to load it with what is listed, Thomas (with his cane) will go grab whatever he wants to eat and brings it to me. We each have our own separate cell phones, so that we can contact each other when we are apart, so he will dial my number to ask me what isle I'm in so he can bring me his food. Once we arrive home from getting groceries, I carry the first few bags up behind him, while he goes to unlock the door for me. Then he remains inside while I and our transportation helper carry the rest of the bags up.
I haven't seen Thomas have any side-effects from his present Rx Medication; and he says he doesn't think he's having any.
If anyone were to give Thomas employment; I feel that he is only well enough to do simple things. Such as: door greeter, cashier, librarian, bank teller, anything that requires sitting at a computer.
Yet now, even though we have both handed a copy of our resumes to more than 50 places that are within walking distance from home, still to this day NOBODY has been willing to hire either of us.
Neither one of us drive; because we BOTH have epilepsy. Thomas' started during elementary school; mine is due to the brain being damaged from forceps at birth. Because of this, the state law requires us to have permission from a neurologist to drive; so we both have no choice but to either walk or ask friends to help us run our errands and take us to appointments.
Thomas had no insurance at all until his 6 months in the hospital, while his caseworker got him applied for insurance and went through a lot of red tapes to get him on insurance that would cover everything for Thomas; but once we got married on June 15, 2016, Thomas ended up loosing most of his insurance and I ended up loosing my dad's part of my SSI & SSDI.
Now, we are financially living on the edge of a cliff...trying not to end up in a shelter home.
I plead unto you to have mercy on us and help us.
PLEASE PRAY that we win this case; so that we can finally afford to move down to Indianapolis in a cheaper apartment!
PLEASE HELP A.S.A.P.
$10, $20, $30, $40, $50, $60, $70, $80, $90, $100...etc. HOWEVER MUCH YOU CAN AFFORD TO ADD TO OUR FUNRAISER.
Organizer
Christina Fulmer
Organizer
Schererville, IN
