Donate to Steven's Fight for Stability and Health

I'm Steven Lewark and I have a story for you which begins from October of last year. I lost all feeling in both hands and arms in the middle of my shift. I couldn't type, call, or text my supervisor to inform him of what I was going through. I used a stress ball and finally received some movement in my right hand.

I scheduled an appointment with my neurologist the week after but had to cancel it due to a sharp pain towards my right rib cage. After tests were run and read, I found out I have a slightly fatty liver along with a highly infected gallbladder. I was transferred from my hometown hospital to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for the prep and surgery. I was there for about a week. Being on home rest, my headaches started back up again, so she ordered a sleep study. The findings showed I suffer from sleep apnea and mini seizures. I did try the machine for a couple of weeks but was taken off of it due to constant nosebleeds. My next setback was the scariest experience I've ever gone through in my life. I answered a question to the triage nurse and either she misunderstood me or misconstrued the answer. However, before I knew it, I was being transferred to the mental health unit of East Liverpool City Hospital because I was placed on suicide watch. Once there, they took everything from and off of me: my backpack, wallet, and the most important item, my cell phone.

Now, I don't have any immediate family members left. My dad, brother, and mother have all passed. I rely on the help of my friends and neighbors since I do own a dog. I begged for the use of my phone, even for just a few moments, so I could call the main friend who looks after the house, picks up the mail, and takes care of Harley, my dog.

After the ordeal was over, I don't know how many sighs of relief I took.

Now, I've also been diagnosed with IBS and clinical depression with suicidal tendencies. My neurologist ordered an MRA and an MRI on my brain. I have a white spot on the left side. She'll order another one to see if it's shrinking, the same size, or hopefully, gone.

I have filed for Social Security disability and supplemental income because I definitely have changed in the personality mode.

Sedgwick, the 3rd party company which handles the claims for AT&T employees, denied my claim on the depression diagnosis. I appealed and lost the appeal.

Sedgwick told me it was because I didn't submit the necessary paperwork, which I did. However, when I received the denial letter on the appeal, it stated they weren't able to follow up with my doctors. I'm trying to find an attorney to take my case because I'm owed 3 months of pay.

Then, after losing my job, I was told I could roll my pension into a 401(k) and take funds out to catch up on my mounting bills, but that was an alternative fact. I'll receive $145 a month. Who on Earth can live on that?

The 2 main bills I'm concerned about are my car payment because I don't want to have it repossessed. $1,300 will get the loan back on track. The other one is for the contractor who put the roof on my house last year. His balance is $1,450. The remaining is for my utilities, property taxes, and insurance on the house and my ride.