What happens if you get sick and there’s no safety net to catch you? Have you ever asked yourself that question? As a chronically ill person, I have, and it’s terrifying. I’m extremely lucky to have a supportive spouse and really good medical insurance, but it’s still a struggle. My friend Andria has no safety net and is very sick, and she needs your help.

She has a complex genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS is a connective tissue disorder that causes joint hypermobility. It has many forms and causes myriad symptoms, and with it come mast cell activation syndrome and dysautonomia. Some people with EDS can barely tell they have it. Others are uncomfortable and inconvenienced. Others become very sick. Some become disabled. Andria is disabled.

It took years for her EDS to be diagnosed, making her health problems more severe. She developed something called cranial cervical instability and tethered cord syndrome. Both of these issues required intense neurosurgeries.

During that time, Andria’s mom became terminally ill. Andria moved onto her mom and stepfather’s land to spend as much time with her mom as she could before her mom died. Between moving, surgeries, and denied disability benefits, Andria fell into debt, but she will never regret the time she spent at her mom's side.

On her mom’s deathbed, Andria and her mom were both promised that Andria would have a place on that land for as long as she needed it. So, after winning her court case, she finally received her disability benefits and a small back benefit compensation package and was able to buy a mobile home. But, very shortly after she bought it, her stepfather remarried, and she was evicted from his property. She was given no notice and no financial help. And her step father, her only living parent, cut off all contact.

Now, on top of losing her mom and her step father and the home she knew, her sugical and moving debt is being made worse by the fact that she has to pay a lot-rental fee that she didn’t include in her budget when she bought her home.

Andria has no local support system. She is in an emotionally neglectful relationship that is draining her physically and mentally. She is responsible for taking care of the house and the bills and doesn’t get any help. Her vehicle has fallen into disrepair because it was being used by her spouse who didn’t take care of it. She just fell down the stairs because her husband never put the deck that came with the house on her mobile home. She has no one to help her make decisions or take action on the decisions that are made. She has no one to help her with the physical tasks she can’t do herself. Her spouse is financially irresponsible and emotionally distant. He watches her cry and says nothing. He sees her struggle and doesn’t offer help. Andria is separated and is now living alone. She desperately wants a divorce but can’t afford to keep living alone while she is in debt, and can’t even afford to file for divorce.

the money from this fundraiser is being kept safe. Be reassured that only Andria has acccess to theses funds. Thank you for anything you can give.

Andria is the hardest working person I know. The only reason she doesn’t work is because she can’t. Many days, she is too ill to get out of bed. None of these circumstances were or are in her control. She is a financially responsible person. Her debt has been caused by a severe medical condition that took years to diagnose, the snail's pace and forced legal fight to receive the disability benefits she’s entitled to, and the neglect of people who should be there to help her.

She is my best friend and the best person I know. I could not make it through my medical journey without her support and friendship. But we live 1000 miles apart, and I'm also really sick. I can only be there in spirit. I can't fix this the way she deserves and needs it to be fixed. She deserves financial security and to live in a home that is physically and emotionally safe, where she is free of this relationship that isn’t good for her.

There is no financial safety net for Andria and people like her. She has nowhere to turn. Her disability benefits barely cover her living expenses. She will never be able to dig herself out of this hole unless she has help. She will never be free of this unhealthy relationship unless she has help. Please donate anything you can or share her story so Andria can have the safety net she, and we all, deserve.