A Light for Michelle

Many of you may remember my friend Michelle, whom I met one gorgeous October day at the corner of Lemmon and Northwest Hwy. Michelle has sunny blonde hair, a warm smile, and a quiet voice. Her bright blue eyes may not be the first thing you notice about her, but if you ever get the pleasure of meeting her, they are what will stay with you. 

The day that I met her, Michelle was panhandling, trying to get money to buy her children new clothes for school. Panhandling is an activity that has been increasingly criminalized in Dallas, and Michelle is particularly vulnerable to the hazards of trying to make a living on the street, but her alternatives are limited. Michelle is a survivor of an automobile accident that killed her then-boyfriend, and burned her so badly that she lost both of her legs above the knee in the immediate aftermath and was left with extensive scarring and a seemingly endless parade of related health problems: joints that will not bend, wounds that will not heal, painful growths on her bones, scar tissue that sometimes makes it difficult to even eat, and on, and on, and on.

It's hard to even know where to begin to describe the hardships that Michelle faces, but I'm going to try. Michelle arrived in Texas from Florida nearly three years ago, with her three children in tow, in an attempt to start a new life. Upon her arrival, she was promptly ripped off by a Craigslist scam artist, and the struggle to provide for herself and her children intensified. She does receive disability, but what she receives was not nearly adequate to provide for herself and three teenaged children in a safe, stable environment. 

A lot has happened in the 2 and half years since I met Michelle. She reconnected with an old boyfriend, Marvin, who now lives with her as her primary caretaker. He finds work as a day laborer when he can, but he is reluctant to leave Michelle when she is at her sickest, and that is far more often than is fair. You see, at one point during one of her many hospital stays, Michelle contracted  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and it's nearly killed her a couple of times. Two years ago, it caused her to have to return to Florida for a time after a bout of illness left her thirty pounds lighter and at death's door. Just a few weeks ago, it cost her her right arm above the elbow.

This loss has been devastating to Michelle. She had recently acheived some semblance of stability in having a more permanent place to live, but the loss of another limb means a loss of the small measure of independence and self-reliance she has fought for over the years. She can no longer get herself around in the wheelchair she has been using. She can get an electric wheelchair, but she still must come up with the 20% co-pay, which comes to $4600 dollars. It's more than the cost of my first two vehicles put together. 

Speaking of vehicles,  they have been without one for quite some time, severely limiting them in the places they may live and where Marvin can work. He gets around well enough on a bicycle that was generously given by a dear friend, but things like grocery shopping and medical appointments remain extraordinarily difficult. 

When I launched this fundraiser for Michelle, I only had a somewhat nebulous goal in mind: get Michelle somewhere safe. Keep her as healthy as possible by keeping her sheltered. You all were able to help do that, and I can't thank you enough. But this chair is an extraordinarily pressing need. Michelle is still in the hospital recovering from the amputation (another raging infection in a heart valve and a blood clot in her lungs were among her many complications), but she is beginning physical therapy, and a big focus of that therapy is learning to use the electric wheelchair. There is not much she will be able to do without one.

Michelle is an endlessly inspiring person. She prays for the people who have wronged her, and continuously trusts that God will make a way for her. She loves her kids fiercely, and thinks of others above herself often. The last time I visited her in the hospital, she told me, over and over again, "This won't beat me."

I don't want to see her leave the hospital without knowing whether or not she'll be able to afford that chair; she needs at least another $3300. I don't want her to be discharged without being certain that she'll be able to return to the home she's been able to know for a brief time because of an inability to pay her bills. But I am, unfortunately, in no position to do this alone.

Your ideas, recommendations and prayers are welcome, but your financial support is most highly desired. The way this fundraiser is set up, all the money goes dircetly to Michelle's bank account. If you have any questions about this, or suggestions to make, please feel free to message me directly.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for taking the time to read her story and to consider joining me in supporting her. Please feel free to share her story with your friends. Your generosity will most certainly not be forgotten. 

"Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:20-21