Hassent Lunzel is a 47-year old mother who always has a smile on her face. I always wondered if it’s her Jamaican roots that give her that infectious laughter and a wish to take care of everybody. Sticking to her job description never seemed to quite cut it for her.
Hassent is a Lead Cook at the International Student House (ISH) in Washington, D.C. where I first met her when I came to live here. I can tell you from experience that the interns and international students who have lived in the ISH in the last seven years love her for her kindness, hard-work, and because she goes out of her way to make you feel at home - like a cool aunt who's around to cheer you up. She never punches the clock -- she makes sure you have food if your classes run late, asks you about your day, and she has even stayed overnight in the middle of a few snowstorms to make sure the almost 100 residents didn't go hungry! And she always does it with a smile.
But now she needs OUR HELP!
A few months ago, Hassent was diagnosed with Polymyositis (pol-e-my-o-SY-tis), an uncommon inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness. The exact cause of polymyositis is unknown, but it shares many characteristics with autoimmune disorders, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body tissues. This means that Hassent is losing muscle tissue and it’s hard for her to climb stairs, lift objects, or reach for something overhead.
While there is no cure for polymyositis, some treatments can improve muscle strength, and Hassent has spent the last few months trying different medicines. But this means that she had to stop working, and although she is doing her best to stay positive and look for ways to pay medical bills on top of her usual expenses (like enrolling in assistance plans) it’s getting very hard for her to make ends meet in the middle of appointments, tests, waiting for medicines to work, for insurance reimbursements…
We all know how frustrating it is to deal with insurance coverage, co-payments, and reimbursements when you feel sick and are trying to stay positive about your health. But for Hassent this is becoming increasingly difficult as she is still dependent on others for things as simple as grabbing something from a cupboard, and she sees her money runnning out without being able to work until she finds the right treatment.
If you know her, you know that she’s a hard-working woman who’s always looking for ways to help those around her. She has worked hard all her life, while being kind and helpful to others, and she doesn’t deserve to live in fear of losing everything now that life has thrown a curved ball at her. And this is where we come in!
We need to help Hassent hold on through this, and not let this situation get the better of her. She needs to be able to afford her rent and living expenses for the next 4 months, so let’s make it happen!
All the money you donate will go to paying rent, insurance premium (so she doesn't lose her coverage), living expenses, transport, medicines, etc., to ensure that she can keep on going until she knows if her latest treatment works, so she doesn’t have to worry about having a place to live or putting food on the table.
I know many of us who lived in the ISH for the last 7 years have known about her situation for a while and will be more than happy to have a concrete way to help her. If someone deserves help and kindness from others, that's Hassent! Because help, kindness, an amazing work ethic, and an everlasting smile are what she has always shown to others.
LET’S DO THIS!
Hassent is a Lead Cook at the International Student House (ISH) in Washington, D.C. where I first met her when I came to live here. I can tell you from experience that the interns and international students who have lived in the ISH in the last seven years love her for her kindness, hard-work, and because she goes out of her way to make you feel at home - like a cool aunt who's around to cheer you up. She never punches the clock -- she makes sure you have food if your classes run late, asks you about your day, and she has even stayed overnight in the middle of a few snowstorms to make sure the almost 100 residents didn't go hungry! And she always does it with a smile.
But now she needs OUR HELP!
A few months ago, Hassent was diagnosed with Polymyositis (pol-e-my-o-SY-tis), an uncommon inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness. The exact cause of polymyositis is unknown, but it shares many characteristics with autoimmune disorders, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body tissues. This means that Hassent is losing muscle tissue and it’s hard for her to climb stairs, lift objects, or reach for something overhead.
While there is no cure for polymyositis, some treatments can improve muscle strength, and Hassent has spent the last few months trying different medicines. But this means that she had to stop working, and although she is doing her best to stay positive and look for ways to pay medical bills on top of her usual expenses (like enrolling in assistance plans) it’s getting very hard for her to make ends meet in the middle of appointments, tests, waiting for medicines to work, for insurance reimbursements…
We all know how frustrating it is to deal with insurance coverage, co-payments, and reimbursements when you feel sick and are trying to stay positive about your health. But for Hassent this is becoming increasingly difficult as she is still dependent on others for things as simple as grabbing something from a cupboard, and she sees her money runnning out without being able to work until she finds the right treatment.
If you know her, you know that she’s a hard-working woman who’s always looking for ways to help those around her. She has worked hard all her life, while being kind and helpful to others, and she doesn’t deserve to live in fear of losing everything now that life has thrown a curved ball at her. And this is where we come in!
We need to help Hassent hold on through this, and not let this situation get the better of her. She needs to be able to afford her rent and living expenses for the next 4 months, so let’s make it happen!
All the money you donate will go to paying rent, insurance premium (so she doesn't lose her coverage), living expenses, transport, medicines, etc., to ensure that she can keep on going until she knows if her latest treatment works, so she doesn’t have to worry about having a place to live or putting food on the table.
I know many of us who lived in the ISH for the last 7 years have known about her situation for a while and will be more than happy to have a concrete way to help her. If someone deserves help and kindness from others, that's Hassent! Because help, kindness, an amazing work ethic, and an everlasting smile are what she has always shown to others.
LET’S DO THIS!
Organizer and beneficiary
Hassent Lunzel
Beneficiary