Hi, I’m Whitney. My friends who live out of state asked me to make this, and I feel weird about making my own, but don’t have another option, and need a village of help for the rest of my life.
I’m disabled and homebound from a spinal cord injury and live with chronic pain and degenerative diseases.
Thank you in advance if you read all of this. My neurodivergent brain doesn’t want to leave out any details. :)
Every day is a struggle, and I can’t perform daily activities of living. I have permanent nerve damage and lose feeling in my legs, feet and right hand. My right hand is partially paralyzed. I’m no longer able to drive or write, and have limited mobility.
The home care I’ve received has been very limited, and I appreciate any help you can provide. It’s pretty backed up right now between laundry, spontaneous kitten messes, and not having home help for over two and a half years.
My long-term disability insurance pays half of my old salary, and I can’t afford food, my bills, and the increasing costs of living. Nor can I afford to pay for private care or help.
Goals:
- Pay for a lift and installation to make my condo ADA and wheelchair accessible. My condo board said I have to cover the full cost. I’d imagine it’s several thousand dollars.
- Pay off $10,000.00+ bill so Holland Hospital will stop sending collections after me — A friend spent several hours on the phone with billing and my insurance. No luck.
- Pay off ~$30,000.00 of the credit card debt from paying for kitchen appliances (mine just died), food, medical, and other costs of living since 2023.
- Be able to afford food — including splurging on orange juice once in awhile
- Save enough money to purchase a nice lightweight wheelchair so people can take me places. ✔️ Thank you all!
- Save enough money to purchase an electronic wheelchair so I can regain some sense of independence ✔️Thank you all!
- Save money to pay a home care angel the wage they deserve (I can’t find anyone registered with MDHHS who can help)
- Have a financial cushion to prevent a negative bank account balance (happened twice last year)
If you’re unable to donate money (times are tough), helping with meals and other needs is greatly appreciated and something I will need for the remainder of my life:
- Food. Safely cutting, preparing and cooking food with only one fully functioning hand is not an option for me, and I depend on a lot of premade foods. My meal train site has been temporarily shut down due to security issues and theft. Hopefully this works securely https://www.giveinkind.com/inkinds/X6E2E2F
- Cleaning my home, as I can't do daily activities of living — and I’ve got lots of allergies.
- Help bathing and with hygiene. Washing and brushing my hair is an endeavor.
- Moving furniture around to better support my needs.
- Organizing unopened mail from September through present.
- Organizing my home and making sure I have access to items I need.
- Amazon drops (mostly food items, but have added self care items at the encouragement of friends). https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/3SBBKJ26S86LX?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_NBKJAF10P17BEWBH1DFE&language=en-US
- Someone to keep track of all my medical referrals, appointments, and details, as I can't remember everything and need an advocate. I already asked my insurance, who said they don't offer any patient advocacy or help. ✔️ My friend is currently helping—she’s a guardian angel—and she’s got a lot on her plate.
- Reliable transportation to medical appointments. My insurance offers medical transportation. However, the past several times I had 20-minute appointments, it took 4-5 hours from pickup to drop-off. The volunteer drivers have patients all over the greater Grand Rapids area. ✔️ My friend is currently helping—she’s a guardian angel—and she’s got a lot on her plate.
Please share with your friends, networks, and anyone who enjoys helping others.
Organizer
