Mike's Recovery
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As many of you may know, Courtney and I live on a tight teachers income, despite the three jobs we are each working. One of which is a contact teaching job at SMCC. The contract pays September though December, February though June. While we financially plan for January being a month of little income and of course, Courtney's maternity leave, we were not prepared for what happened to me in January.
On December 3rd we welcomed baby Abilene, in a somewhat traumatic style at Maine Med, after an emergency home birth transfer.
Shortly after we came home from the hospital with our new born and a (very) physically taxed mama, I came down with a cold. This didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but after 3 weeks of short nights of sleep with a newborn, the end of a difficult semester at school, and trying to spend as much time as possible building up a three year old's life who had just imploded, I got a little sicker.
During the first days of the cold snap at the end of the year I went into work at the BBQ joint to frozen, then burst pipes and I couldn't get warm. I was wearing as many clothes as humanly possible but couldn't bring my body temp up. Throughout the day I started to feel pain in my thighs and lower back. By the end of my shift at 2, I was exhausted and in severe pain. I went home and directly to bed. I woke up at seven and wasn't able to eat my dinner. We called the doctor and she told us that I had influenza. This was New Year's Eve Eve, and the last day I have been to work.
Over the next ten days I spent the better part of my days in bed, I felt nauseous, I couldn't stand, I certainly couldn't care for our newborn or our son, even though at times it was necessary I do so. I felt worse and worse. Night time was the most alienating. I couldn't sleep due to a vomit inducing cough. I slept sitting up, alone on the couch, not wanting to admit to my wife in postpartum that I just couldn't do anything.
Finally we called the doctor again. I had missed two weeks of work and was not feeling any better. She listened to my lungs for a grand total of 2.5 seconds before telling me I had pneumonia.
This has been the most taxing month on my poor wife. I have felt close to death on a number of occassions. My son misses and needs his dad, and I need to be able to help my wife with our daughter.
I am on my third day of meds and feeling a bit better. I'm cleared for work by Wednesday, but I will have missed nearly three weeks of work by this time. I had built in extra shifts at the restaurant to help our family through the month that I don't get paid for teaching, and I was able to work none of them.
In that span we lost roughly:
$120 a week x 3weeks at Ottos = $360.00
$250 a week x 3 week at Noble = $750.00
lost wages: $1,110.00
Doctors visits: $80.00
Medications: $75.00
Total expenses: $155.00
Total loss: $1,260.00
Available savings: $510.00
What we are asking for: $750.00
Our little family would appreciate any help you could give. Money is the most helpful, but we also can still use help with Austin. If someone has an hour or two and would be willing to take Austin to the park or the children's museum, we would very much appreciate it. (we have a membership to the museum.)
Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for your help.
On December 3rd we welcomed baby Abilene, in a somewhat traumatic style at Maine Med, after an emergency home birth transfer.
Shortly after we came home from the hospital with our new born and a (very) physically taxed mama, I came down with a cold. This didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but after 3 weeks of short nights of sleep with a newborn, the end of a difficult semester at school, and trying to spend as much time as possible building up a three year old's life who had just imploded, I got a little sicker.
During the first days of the cold snap at the end of the year I went into work at the BBQ joint to frozen, then burst pipes and I couldn't get warm. I was wearing as many clothes as humanly possible but couldn't bring my body temp up. Throughout the day I started to feel pain in my thighs and lower back. By the end of my shift at 2, I was exhausted and in severe pain. I went home and directly to bed. I woke up at seven and wasn't able to eat my dinner. We called the doctor and she told us that I had influenza. This was New Year's Eve Eve, and the last day I have been to work.
Over the next ten days I spent the better part of my days in bed, I felt nauseous, I couldn't stand, I certainly couldn't care for our newborn or our son, even though at times it was necessary I do so. I felt worse and worse. Night time was the most alienating. I couldn't sleep due to a vomit inducing cough. I slept sitting up, alone on the couch, not wanting to admit to my wife in postpartum that I just couldn't do anything.
Finally we called the doctor again. I had missed two weeks of work and was not feeling any better. She listened to my lungs for a grand total of 2.5 seconds before telling me I had pneumonia.
This has been the most taxing month on my poor wife. I have felt close to death on a number of occassions. My son misses and needs his dad, and I need to be able to help my wife with our daughter.
I am on my third day of meds and feeling a bit better. I'm cleared for work by Wednesday, but I will have missed nearly three weeks of work by this time. I had built in extra shifts at the restaurant to help our family through the month that I don't get paid for teaching, and I was able to work none of them.
In that span we lost roughly:
$120 a week x 3weeks at Ottos = $360.00
$250 a week x 3 week at Noble = $750.00
lost wages: $1,110.00
Doctors visits: $80.00
Medications: $75.00
Total expenses: $155.00
Total loss: $1,260.00
Available savings: $510.00
What we are asking for: $750.00
Our little family would appreciate any help you could give. Money is the most helpful, but we also can still use help with Austin. If someone has an hour or two and would be willing to take Austin to the park or the children's museum, we would very much appreciate it. (we have a membership to the museum.)
Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for your help.
Organizer
Mike Lewis
Organizer
Portland, ME
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