Dad's Funeral & Hurricane Ian (Save Our House)

Once again the tides have turned. We find ourselves inundated with the perfect storm of circumstances to place us in a gap between immediate need & foreseeable future funds. In total transparency, we are trying to save our Port Orange home from a tax deed certificate sale. Due to the unexpected death of Otila's Father, Jack Massaro, on January 6, 2023, we are short of the funds we need. Whether it be a donation or a short-term loan, we are asking for help to fill the gap. Payment is due on Monday, January 23, 2023.

Wes has been out of work for almost 2 years & without an income due to health issues (spinal surgery (Nov 2021) & DVTs aka blood clots that almost killed him) & is still at least 6 months left of his original DVT condition recovery time as diagnosed by his doctors. Wes just had hip replacement surgery & also needs knee surgery. He filed for Social Security Disability benefits in Nov. 2021 & is currently in the appeal process. He is waiting on a back payout of at least $15-20K.

Otila is back to work full time after 2022 had her in the hospital 4 times for almost 25 days total. Currently undergoing chemotherapy, she had digestive issues which lead to finding a cancerous tumor attached to her bladder & growing into her colon. She went to the hospital twice for sepsis before proper imaging found a cancerous tumor. In May 2022, she had the tumor removed with a colon resection which left her with a bladder catheter for 4 weeks & an ileostomy bag for 3 months. The reversal was completed in August 2022 & Otila Started her 2nd go around with chemotherapy in October 2022.

Hurricane Ian brought devastation to our Port Orange home. Category 3 flood waters inundated the house & we lost almost everything we owned except for our music gear (housed at a different location), some clothing, and a few other items. Everything that was on the floor including all major appliances, furniture, furnishings, cabinets, personal items, bed sets, you name it, is gone. The home now sits with 4-foot drywall flood cuts & completely gutted. We are staying at Wes' mother's home in Ormond Beach & our animals are living at my dad's house in Bradenton, FL. We have been driving every weekend since the hurricane to visit my dad & see the animals who are in one bedroom. We are awaiting a FEMA appeal, we were granted a small payment for personal property, but are fighting for the full amount of available funds of up to $39,500 for both personal property & home repair. Since the house is paid off (her parents had owned it for over 40 years, and no mortgage exists), we did not hold insurance for the home. Our FEMA appeal was submitted in December 2022, it has been over a month & we are waiting for further assistance.

Otila's Mother, Otila Folole, passed away from Covid in February 2021. We currently have an application submitted for FEMA Funeral aid that will reimburse us for any Funeral expenses. This is another form of income we are waiting to receive.

On January 6th, 2023, when we arrived to visit Otila's Father like we do every weekend in Bradenton, FL (Daytona to Bradenton is a 3-hour drive), she found her Father (Jack Massaro) unresponsive on the couch. He had passed away during a nap. As peaceful as he looked, it was a traumatic find for Otila. Amid all the challenges we were already facing, we now have this tragic event to also face. Jack did not have any living blood relatives & Otila is his only child. She is responsible for his estate. The expenses became immediate with arrangements at the funeral home, upkeep of his home, constant travel with expenses of fuel & eating on the go. Otila is still waiting on the death certificate to go through the estate/probate process. We have determined that we have to save the Port Orange home from auction, to in turn save the Bradenton home & be able to process all the paperwork so that Otila will fully inherit her family's estate.

Currently, Wes is staying in Bradenton taking care of our animals & our new furbabies (& bird) that were her parents, while Otila is commuting back & forth to Daytona Beach for work during the week & staying with Wes' mother.

This leads us back to the Tax Deed Certificate sale & the need for immediate funds to satisfy the debt. We are just in the gap & we are hoping for help out. Whether it be a donation or a short-term loan, we are humbly asking for help. Our payment is due on Monday, January 23, 2023. The GoFundMe website does not charge a fee for hosting the fundraiser but does have merchant payment processing fees. Similar to the fees that we are charged when we swipe a credit or debit card at an event when we sell merchandise.

If you would like to make other arrangements outside of the website, please contact Otila or Wes (386-506-2087) on social media, email or text. Facebook, Instagram.

Other platforms:

Zelle - OtilaMassaro (@gmail)

Venmo - @Otila-Massaro

PayPal - TalofaLavaThreads (@gmail)

CashApp - @OtilaMassaro

Thank You for any assistance you can offer to get us through the gap & over the hurdle we face. This would be a huge factor that determines our future, we pray it is bright at the end of a long & dark journey. We are thankful for everyone's support through our toughest times, we know that things will get better. God Bless!

Aloha,

Otila Massaro & Wes Balewski

Photos of the current state of our house in Port Orange, FL. House was owned by Jack Massaro (Father).