Last year, I got very sick and reached a point where I could barely walk and could barely breathe. I was admitted to Sutter Hospital where I was given an Angiogram (an imaging camera was inserted into an artery in my wrist and was passed through to my heart so it could be visually assessed by my cardiologist). After that, my cardiologist informed me that my Chronic Systolic Heart Failure that I was diagnosed with 10 years prior had become extremely serious and that my systolic heart wall muscle (the muscle that pumps oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart) had become extremely weak and the risk of imminent total failure was extremely high. After many many weeks of hospitalization, I spent many more weeks in medical hospice care but my medi-cal benefits would only cover 3 months. Since then I have been living through one of scariest periods of my life both without a home and without most of the medical care I am in desperate need of. My heart is only functioning at 25% to 30% capacity, which makes even simple tasks like walking to get food or to use a restroom and to find a safe place to sleep has become incredibly dangerous. I often struggle to breathe and live in constant fear that my heart will give out before I can make it to my next destination. Managing a critical heart condition is difficult under the best circumstances, but doing so while unhoused is nearly impossible.

I’m constantly dealing with severe fatigue, shortness of breath and dizziness that results from even the slightest exertion. I am nowhere close to being able to work or support myself physically or financially anymore and I have no more living relatives that can afford to help me with my finances. My efforts of getting on state Disability have not succeeded yet and I have been told the wait for a decision is estimated at another nine months to a year due to errors made by the social security and state disability office regarding my application paperwork.

What these funds will help cover:

The cost of a body-worn defibrillator that will help me survive with heart failure longer. The costs for the medications and the therapy sessions that I need to have to be put on the national heart transplant waiting list.

It will also help me to pay for housing and basic living expenses.

Any support you can provide, whether through donations or sharing my campaign with others would mean more to me than I can express to you.

I wish to thank those of you that have taken the time to consider helping with my situation.

Your support means the world to me, and I am deeply grateful for any help you can provide.

—God bless.