Bring Martha & Peter Together Again

I am starting this GoFundMe for my friend Martha Currie (nee Spear). We have known each other since her family moved to the Shenandoah Valley in the 8th grade. She needs our help, so I hope you will read her story and donate to help her. It is also a story of how illness can completely ruin your life as you know it. Thank you for taking the time to read her story and if you feel led, contribute. If nothing else, please pray for her to be successful in starting completely over and hopefully returning to her husband, Peter.

Here is her story:

Peter, a Scottish citizen, and I have been married for what will be 19 years in October. We are currently living in Scotland and I must return to the US. I am basically starting over with nothing. Peter will stay behind to get his pension in December and make his life there.

This nightmare began while I was living in California for 20 years as a dental hygienist. In 1998, I suffered bilateral torn rotator cuffs that required surgery in both shoulders. This is a common injury for my career. Eventually, I moved to Virginia and married Peter in 2006. I again returned to work as a dental assistant and then hygienist. Unfortunately, my shoulder was reinjured and required surgery again in Virginia in 2024. After surgery and a few months of PT, I had still not been cleared to return to work due to a slow healing process. As a result, I lost my job, my short-term disability, and insurance. Peter could not work as his green card was expiring in the US. We could no longer afford our apartment or car in Northern Virginia. We basically lost everything and were on the verge of being homeless. I did finally get my Social Security, but it was nowhere near enough for us to afford to live on in the States. With no clearance to return to work, we decided to take a chance and move to Scotland in the hopes of my getting permanent resident status since Peter is a citizen and we could afford to live there on my Social Security. Unfortunately, I can’t stay simply based on the fact that I’m married to Peter. We thought we could apply for me to stay permanently once we got to Scotland. This was incorrect. It has to be applied for only when outside of Scotland. Unfortunately, we were also blindsided by a nearly $3000 surcharge for the National Health Service, in addition to the application fee of $2000. Both had to be paid at the time the application was filed. We do not have anywhere near that amount to apply. And I cannot work in Scotland without it. Once I apply, it is estimated to take six months to a year for processing.

I must now return to the United States, where I will be living in Lynchburg, VA, finding work to get back on my feet, and see what the future holds. Just renting and settling in an apartment with deposits is so costly. Not to mention finding a vehicle that I can afford to get to work.

Thank you in advance for any help you can spare to reunite me with my beloved husband....❤️