Home and Peace
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Life's Adventures - I will begin with about 6 years ago. November 18, 2008 - My father passed away from a long battle with Parkinson's disease. My husband, John and I and our 3 children gave up our rental house in San Ramon and moved in with my mother to help her keep her home. She had the beginnings of dementia at that time and only had her SS - not enough to keep a house that had been re-financed several times as a result of my father being ill.
We did manage to hold onto her house for her for 4 years. Then we were told to find a place to live as she was going into a home and her house was being sold. With just 2 weeks to spare, I did find a beautiful house in Mountain House - 5 bedrooms for John, I, and our 3 adult children. My husband did manage to move my mother's household, our household, and our children's things to the new location using a trailer and tarps (it rained 28 out of 31 days that December). Shortly after move-in, I became ill.
January 18, 2013 - Boss insisted I see a doctor before coming back to work - my blood pressure at the doctor's office was 237/115, and she sent me to the hospital. I was in intensive care for 4 days. It was determined that I have hydrocephalus - a condition where spinal fluid collects on the brain and does not drain as it should. I had brain surgery to have a shunt inserted on April 8, 2013, to help drain the fluid. John took very good care of me while I was on disability, but one son married and moved out and our daughter moved out as well. We had to move again. We found a one-bedroom apartment in the Bay Area for close to the same price we were paying for our house. John moved everything again - this time to 3 locations (a five-bedroom house and storage to a one-bedroom apartment). This financially impaired us further.
Skip forward - This is our situation now - we lost the apartment on October 21 with 2 months and late fees still due. John worked for a contractor for a month and was owed several thousand dollars and the contractor disappeared without paying him. We are now homeless - working, but homeless. We manage a room once every few days and sleep in the car the rest. We are in serious debt (for us, anyway) and need a place desperately to call home. I am also on several medications that cost - without which I would not survive.
This is our story, our adventure, we need a leg up. I truly believe in being blessed to "be a blessing." This is my goal - to pass on whatever blessings we may receive as we are able. We have helped several homeless people in our own home in the past.
Thank you for anything you can do - prayers are very welcome as well.
God Bless,
Cheryl and John
We did manage to hold onto her house for her for 4 years. Then we were told to find a place to live as she was going into a home and her house was being sold. With just 2 weeks to spare, I did find a beautiful house in Mountain House - 5 bedrooms for John, I, and our 3 adult children. My husband did manage to move my mother's household, our household, and our children's things to the new location using a trailer and tarps (it rained 28 out of 31 days that December). Shortly after move-in, I became ill.
January 18, 2013 - Boss insisted I see a doctor before coming back to work - my blood pressure at the doctor's office was 237/115, and she sent me to the hospital. I was in intensive care for 4 days. It was determined that I have hydrocephalus - a condition where spinal fluid collects on the brain and does not drain as it should. I had brain surgery to have a shunt inserted on April 8, 2013, to help drain the fluid. John took very good care of me while I was on disability, but one son married and moved out and our daughter moved out as well. We had to move again. We found a one-bedroom apartment in the Bay Area for close to the same price we were paying for our house. John moved everything again - this time to 3 locations (a five-bedroom house and storage to a one-bedroom apartment). This financially impaired us further.
Skip forward - This is our situation now - we lost the apartment on October 21 with 2 months and late fees still due. John worked for a contractor for a month and was owed several thousand dollars and the contractor disappeared without paying him. We are now homeless - working, but homeless. We manage a room once every few days and sleep in the car the rest. We are in serious debt (for us, anyway) and need a place desperately to call home. I am also on several medications that cost - without which I would not survive.
This is our story, our adventure, we need a leg up. I truly believe in being blessed to "be a blessing." This is my goal - to pass on whatever blessings we may receive as we are able. We have helped several homeless people in our own home in the past.
Thank you for anything you can do - prayers are very welcome as well.
God Bless,
Cheryl and John
Organizer
Cheryl Lawrence
Organizer
Pleasanton, CA