From Jill:

I am so thankful that one of my amazing caregivers/friends has helped to get this gofundme set up for me! I am blessed with many good people in my life.

A little about me - my faith in Christ is the most important thing in my life. He has helped me through so much in my life and gives me joy and strength! His grace is truly sufficient. I love my family, friends, children, animals, gardening and nature! I love to laugh. I have always tried to maintain a positive attitude and outlook, with a spirit of determination, overcoming obstacles, and always being thankful.

I live on my own in an apartment, with caregivers who come in for several shifts throughout the day. I have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, which I was diagnosed with at 3 years old. It affected every joint in my body, from jaws to toes. I endured a lot of hospitalizations as a child, with physical and occupational therapy, and treatments for inflammation and pain management. As an adult, I was left with severe contractures and damage in my joints, weakness, pain, and very limited mobility. I now use a power wheelchair and need complete care. I have a service dog from Paws With A Cause, who is a wonderful companion and help!

I work part-time at a local Christian School, as part of the educational support staff, helping students in lower elementary grades mostly with reading and phonics. I love my job and am so thankful for it! It's very part-time though, because of scheduling challenges and physical, health-related limitations.

Now to explain the reasons for my financial struggles....

In September 2024, my former service dog, Divvy, passed away at 15 years old. We were extremely bonded, so it has been a hard loss. For the last couple years of Divvy's life, he had a variety of health issues that required a lot of time, attention, and money. I had to pay a lot of extra vet bills, and buy special supplements, foods, injections, etc... This caused me to go into quite a bit of debt. I have paid some down, with help from a previous fundraiser. But I still owe a significant amount. With my limited income, and high interest rates, it's hard to make much of a dent in this debt.

I am also struggling just to make ends meet each month right now. With the cost of living going up, it's hard to afford groceries, gas, rent, electric bill, phone bill, etc...

Since my disease is inflammatory, I try to do everything I can to only eat higher quality, anti-inflammatory foods, such as organic, free range, etc... I am also gluten free, and low sodium, because of certain health issues. Although I do take a few necessary prescriptions, these healthier foods, along with certain supplements, help me reduce the number of prescriptions I need, and allow me to maintain as high a quality of life as possible. Of course, these dietary needs are costly.

Another expense is caring for my current service dog, Sunny. She needs high quality foods and treats, to keep her in the best condition possible, and she struggles with some allergies, so needs certain supplements. Of course, there are also vet bills.

Additionally, I always have expenses related to my disability or care needs that are not covered by insurance For example, when hiring new caregivers, sometimes I need them to start working before their paperwork has been processed to officially be paid by my funding source, medicaid waiver. In this case, I need to pay them out of pocket, which can add up quick. When I'm hospitalized or in ER, they are not allowed to be paid by medicaid waiver, so I need to pay out of pocket in that scenario also. Even though I'm in the hospital, I still need their help with things like housework, taking care of my service dog, bringing my wheelchair to the hospital, or other things while I'm there.

Another disability-related financial need that is not always covered is when I need certain equipment or repairs. For example, I need a good backup power wheelchair to use when mine is in for repairs. If I need new batteries or any other repairs for the backup wheelchair, that is out of pocket expense. I recently had to pay $600 for batteries for a backup power chair. I still need a good manual wheelchair as another backup option, but can't afford it. Within the last year, I had to buy a shower chair out of pocket because the one I needed was not covered by insurance. I've had a prescription for new glasses for a while now, but can't afford them. Any expenses like these are a huge strain.

With my significant debt, as well as all the ongoing financial needs shared above, I am really struggling. Any help people can provide will be hugely appreciated!! My main goal right now is to get out of debt, so that I can have a little more money freed up to be able to try to afford my life in general. With my life situation, unfortunately I do need some outside financial help on a regular basis.

It's hard to have to ask for help... and humbling. I don't want to be in this situation. But with encouragement and help from one of my caregivers, this fundraiser is being set up. Thank you SO much to anyone who can contribute, even a little, and also for helping to spread the word. I am deeply grateful.

I'm including my Venmo if anyone would like a different way to give: @Jill-Oosterbaan

Again, many many thanks!

A couple more photos:

Jill & Sunny, on Sunny's 1st day of school

A photo of Jill & Divvy, her previous service dog