Bills and Service Dog

I was recently hit with an as-yet unspecified seizure disorder on top of my other health problems. They are all likely related. Docs are still investigating the root causes, but most of my income came from my ability to drive. I used to work conventions--often hundreds of miles away. After that I would drive for DoorDash and Instacart, and other similar gig-work. Plus my office for my small biz is 15-20 minutes from my house depending on traffic. My existing health problems had already put a strain on me and my finances. Suddenly having two Grand Mal seizures within a month of each other have put most of my work to a halt lately. I still write and am working on some audio projects. But creative work is not exactly great paying work at all times.

Being unable to drive has really messed with both my ability to work, and my general life. I have to rely on others to run even basic errands.

Therefore I'm asking for money again (cue Bernie Sanders meme) despite hating this as a revenue stream. I'd really rather you go buy t-shirts or books from ianmcleod.com or Amazon (author Ian McLeod), or join my subscribestar (also ianmcleod) for additional content as I release it. But if you aren't interested in buying what I'm selling, I do deeply appreciate the help and your kindness. I ask out of a spirit of humility, and with the promise that I will pay it forward as long as I walk this good Earth. I have a relatively good reputation and I help people as much as possible myself. Not perfect. Sometimes I'm not so good, but I do try.

Funds from this will go toward three things: first is bills. I'm behind on my mortgage and other bills. I've had much help from friends and family, but I know I'm becoming burdensome even though they'll say I'm not. About $1k for catching up on bills.

My (new to me) minivan also needs some repair. The alternator is weak and the battery is dying. That's going to be about $350 for quality parts and decent work (I could do it myself for a little less, but I'm still rather unwell. And even then I might not be allowed to drive for a while, but sometimes my mom needs to borrow it.)

So that accounts for roughly $1350 of the stated goal.

If I do reach the full goal, though, I want to get and have a service dog trained from a reliable breed, because the last seizure I had, I just so happened to be with a friend who was able to offer first aid and call EMTs: that friend knew what to do for someone having a Grand Mal seizure. Not everyone does. I know that is an expensive goal, but having either another person, or a trained service animal around before or during a seizure can be the difference between life and death. I don't have another person around 24/7 so--service animal is best bet. A proper service animal is expensive, but I figure if I do hit my goal that'll cover a) animal, b) training, and c) expenses involved for several months at least until I'm clear to drive (and thus work) again.

I cannot stress this enough: I love working. I want to be working. I'm just having to reorganize my life completely for the third time in three years, and it's not easy. It's demoralizing but I'm trying to move forward.

Edited to add: the reason I'm asking so much and so soon before a proper diagnosis is because a friend told me this process can take months, so the sooner I start, the better off I am. And to clarify: I have T1A diabetes, which is adult-onset insulin dependency. My T1A diabetes is the result of pancreatic failure, and the failure of my doctors to salvage beta cells from my pancreas and transplanting them into my liver. The effing quacks at Southern Methodist University Hospital in Memphis didn't bother with anything like that, and I'm stuck with a useless organ in my body. But I can't just go keto and jump on metformin and be okay like a T2 diabetic (think: wilford brimley mems): I am completely insulin dependent. I have to take 2-3 shots of insulin per day because the human liver creates its own glucose from protein along with any carbs you eat and digest. My insulin dosage depends on diet but I'm on oldschool humalog insulin, not the good stuff. Then recently had this as-yet unspecified seizure disorder pop up. I've had both diabetic low-blood-sugar seizures before I had my diet and glucose and insulin under control--I'm doing really well on that front in fact--but now, much more recently, the Grand Mal seizures that have popped up regardless of my blood glucose levels have really thrown me a curveball. The seizures are likely related to brain damage from my coma in 2019 but my MRIs have not shown any anomalies, so it's still a mystery until I see a neurologist in November. So far, the medication I'm on for the seizures are working to prevent seizures (but are also keeping me out of work because I'm always tired), but that is never a guarantee. In either case, a service animal can detect either type of seizure if properly trained and I'd rather be alive than dead.