Donate to help a disabled artist keep her home

Hello, my name is Amy. I am a disabled artist, and my fiancé and I need your help.  All of our bills: rent, electric, water/sewer/trash, Internet, car insurance, car payment, phone bill are all overdue. We need your help to keep our home and get back on our feet. Our goal is $4,000, which will allow us to get up to date on our bills and rent and keep a roof over our heads so that we can take care of our dog and my 16-year-old stepson. 

Things have recently become more urgent as I am now pregnant & have been so sick that I have been practically bed-bound for the last 4 weeks or so. 

We have a shorter-term goal of $1900 by mid-June, which would allow us to catch up on rent and utility payments so that we can keep the lights on and a roof over our heads. 

 Please consider donating. Anything helps. If you are unable to contribute monetarily, please think about sharing this GoFundMe on social media. Yours might be the share that connects us with someone who can help. It was difficult for us to come to the decision to make this GoFundMe, but we realized we don’t have any other options right now to keep us in our home and keep the lights and water on.

I had to quit my job last March due to severe back and neck pain. I’ve had constant pain since I was around 10, but by the time I was coming up on 30, it made working retail impossible. My fiancé is a self-employed handyman, and he was making enough to support us for a while. Then, over the summer, my health completely fell apart: bone-grinding hip pain, painful muscle spasms and the feeling my spine is inflamed, extreme fatigue and brain fog. I became unable to sit up straight for more than a few minutes, and as a result of that, unable to drive as well. My carpal tunnel flared so badly that for over a month, my fiancé had to feed me, dress me, bathe me, help me get in and out of bed. I couldn’t use my hands or wrists, and I felt so helpless. I also developed intense dizziness and lightheadedness upon standing. This was recently diagnosed as POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), and this condition has greatly affected my mobility. I now walk with a cane, and even then, I can only walk short distances.

Recently I have gotten diagnoses that validate my struggle, along with the POTS: fibromyalgia, bone spurs in my hip, and degenerative problems in my spine. With these diagnoses, I can begin the process of applying for disability, but I have no idea how long that will take. My fiancé had to take time off work to care for me and drive me to all of my doctor’s appointments (at least 1-2 per week). Then, when he was able to return to work, he became ill himself with some pretty bad gastrointestinal issues. He had to reschedule and cancel appointments for over a week and lost several clients. Since then, he has barely been getting any work.

I am working to open a small business making polymer clay jewelry. I am also trying to get into freelance writing. I need the flexibility to be able to take multiple naps a day if my body needs it, so making this shop work seems to be my best option. I think we can make it in our business ventures if we can just make it through the next couple months.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.