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Applied for Disability and Student Loan help

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Hi, my name is Andrew Sawyer. In 1997, nine years after graduating high school I joined a volunteer fire house. This decision altered my life drastically. As a volunteer. I was sent to the Arkansas State Fire Academy for basic Emergency Medical Technician training and in three months graduated with that certification. I volunteered as much as I could serving the community in which I lived. The week after my graduation an F4 tornado hit the neighborhood I was living in causing major destruction. I also started a career working for an Ambulance Service. My first major back injury that required surgery was towards the end of 1997 (blown disk). I made a fateful mistake with securing student loans to return to college for my undergrad requirements and nursing school. In 1999 I graduated from East Arkansas Community College with my Paramedic degree. I continued to volunteer and work as a Paramedic. In 2000 I was able to attend the Arkansas Fire Academy and get trained as an International Fire Firefighter. Working full time and going to school part time I was able to graduate Nursing School at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock in 2007. I continued my educational pursuits and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Nursing from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Unfortunately I sustained a life changing injury in 2010 and had multiple back surgeries. I have a three level fusion and a cage in my back. As a result of negligence from the surgeon my L5 nerve root was cut during surgery and I lost use of my lower left leg below the knee. I was offered disability at this time but made a poor decision and attempted to fight my way back to health. For the last few years I have volunteered as a Therapy Dog handler serving local hospitals and nursing homes. I am unable to do that now. It is now 2023, my student loans are going to go into default even though I’ve paid them back twice over I still owe 65,000 plus. I can hardly walk at this point. My pain level out of control and Doctors don’t give you pain medicine anymore and offer no alternatives. I also suffer from depression and PTSD from the horrific experiences I have encountered serving people in crisis. You have no idea how hard it is to type up this story and ask for help. I am waiting for my disability to be approved but have been told I most likely will not get approval the first go around. Please help, share and ask me questions. Thank you

i currently do not have a ton of FB followers so please share my link.

Funds will be applied to car payment, insurance, personal expenses, medical dept and Doctors appointments and student loans.
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    Andrew Sawyer
    Organizer
    Palmyra, VA

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