The last few years have been hard for my husband, Tom and I. Right now he's juggling multiple jobs, I'm trying to find even 1 job, and now we have fallen behind on our mortgage and bills.
From 2012-2022, I worked as a hotel reservations agent and I really loved my job. Unfortunately with the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2021 I was laid off for a few months with the intent to recall as the tourism industry was basically nuked by the virus. I was back at the hotel in July 2021, but in early 2022 Tom and I both got Covid-19. His illness and recovery period was brief and complete. I was sick for almost 3 months, and unfortunately have the condition known as Long Covid. The World Health Organization has a fact sheet about this new condition here: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/post-covid-19-condition-(long-covid) . Approximately 15 in 100 people with Long Covid have symptoms lasting 12 months or longer, I am in this category. The worst of these symptoms affects my ability to do sustained physical labour and I can become breathless in hazy environments such as being outside when there are active forest fires in spring and summer.
My employment has been off and on since 2022, mainly due to illness. I left the hotel in 2022 as I was frequently getting sick and could no longer maintain regular assigned schedules. I tried working from home and even obtained a license for insurance sales, but never completed training for the job I was hired for due to frequent anxiety attacks. In 2023, I had a stable job but was laid off July 2024 due to company restructuring. I was on EI and was accepted into a government program to start a virtual assistant business but was unable to find clients and the only contact I was getting was from scammers. I have dealt with depression for many years, Long Covid made it worse and this spring I had a massive mental dip, being unable to bring in any income hasn't helped. In July of this year I developed Functional Aphonia, likely due to stress, and this left me completely unable to speak for 4 months. After seeing a specialist and getting speech therapy, I have made a full recovery.
While I was battling my illnesses, Tom was able to support both of us once my EI benefits ran out, but he is no longer able to do so. I am unable to run my business anymore as we cannot afford the license renewal and website fees, and while I have been able to get a few job interviews, I am still trying to find employment. The few offers I've received outright have all been sketchy or unethical.
In the past year, inflation has just gone up and our grocery bills have also increased. As many of our friends and family are aware, Tom and I have many pets that are part of our family. A trio of tuxedo cats that have been bonded since their birth, two rabbits, and one hamster. All of them are loved, but 5/6 of our babies eat quite a lot of food and have other needs such as litter boxes, and in the case of the rabbits, nutrient requirements such as hay.
Right now, we are trying to keep our heads above the water, but we're sinking fast. As of December 12, 2025 we are one month behind on our phone, internet, and utility bills and have missed a mortgage payment. While we have been able to make payment arrangements on some of these, others are pressing and we are in danger of defaulting on our mortgage if we can't keep that current.
I have been trying for the last 3 years to pull myself up but my health kept me down and we need help. As a couple, we make too much to qualify for financial aid, but without Tom's income we wouldn't be able to survive.
The amount we're asking for help on includes our past due bills, and one month in the future as I try and get hired anywhere doing anything that I'm able to do.
I have 20+ years of customer service skills across fast food, retail, and office settings, and am a graduate of Reeves College with a diploma for Hospitality Management. I am certified to teach English as a second language with online specialization from Bridge, but with no experience I haven't been able to get hired. I'm trying to stay away from strictly phone jobs as those are the worst strain on my health, but I've started to apply for even these types of jobs part time. My hobbies include a lot of working with my hands and I feel that a job in cabinetmaking or framing is something that I'd be good at, but I can't afford to professionally develop these skills via a college or trade school.
Many job advertisements that I've seen even for general help require a driver's license which I don't have due to anxiety. I have a GDL and would like to learn, but there hasn't been any time or fund for lessons. Tom is absolutely exhausted and working day and night sometimes, the periods that he does have for rest are taken advantage of for normal household tasks.
It kills me that we're struggling so much, that everything that I've tried to accomplish has been in vain, and now we face the quite likely situation of losing everything we've built and having to give up our beloved pets due to financial difficulty.
Please help us if you can. Thank you.
Update January 9, 2026: I was freelancing as an AI trainer for about a week, but the company has since done a mass freezing of accounts and I haven't been able to work for them, or any other AI company. . More resumes have been sent out but so far, but I've only had one interview and that didn't result in being hired. I am still trying to find even a minimum wage job in Edmonton or a remote job that I can do from home. This morning I received an email that Epcor is close to turning off our services, a payment arrangement has been scheduled but we're quite desperate.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far, it means the world to Tom and I and helped us breathe a bit easier over Christmas.
Take care everyone.