Help Maresa Avoid Eviction

TLDR

If you’re interested in the details, great! Scroll on. If not, here’s what you need to know at a glance:

Due to long-term and some still-unknown health issues, I find myself in a position that I need to ask for financial help. Without this, I will be evicted in June with few means to land on my feet. All other options and resources have been exhausted.

What Happened?

In January of 2020, I got sicker than I’ve ever been in my life. Looking back, I and my doctors are pretty sure I had an early case of Covid. A month later, I went to the doctor because I had excessive exhaustion and vertigo. Though I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and got on CPAP therapy, with my apnea now well controlled, my symptoms continued to get worse.

In early 2022, my doctor took me out of work and put me on medical leave. Despite numerous tests and medications, my health continued to decline, and I was unable to go back to work.

Since then, I have seen many more specialists. I have a doctor’s appointment almost every week. I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder resulting in painful lesions, boils, and open sores all over my body all the time. My skin literally flakes and peels off 24/7. I was also diagnosed with as-yet-unspecified hypersomnia, which is being treated as narcolepsy, and other chronic illnesses. My sleep disorder alone is so advanced that the highest narcoleptic dose of Adderall—an amphetamine—does not keep me awake. I even failed a powerful medication used by fighter pilots in the military. I’ve also just failed my most recent medication for my autoimmune disorder.

During 2022-2023, I ran through my savings account, drained my retirement fund, and maxed out my credit cards. I got and tried to keep a part-time, low-impact remote job for six months, which was incredibly difficult and frustrating because I couldn’t keep up with expectations. I ran out of money, and since then, many bills have gone unpaid and my credit score has tanked. Through the generous help of people close to me, I was up to now able to pay for the basics such as my rent. However, now all of those sources are tapped out. My landlords filed eviction on me in March, and I ran out of food that month. After avoiding eviction court by less than 24 hours in March due to the miracle of a close friend (and having the eviction filing on my record now, which prevents me from moving), I am now faced with the possibility of having a second eviction filing in June.

My day-to-day life is completely different than it used to be. At only 38 years old, I am essentially bedridden and have been for two years. My entire life revolves around my health minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and I am essentially locked inside the walls of my apartment. I sleep 14-18 hours—or more—per day. This is not a want, this is a need; I hit a brick wall and immediately have to sleep for however long my body requires. This happens randomly and cannot be anticipated. When I am awake, I typically only have 2-4 “good” hours per day (and those are usually spread out). I am only able to be awake for about 6 hours at a time, and during that time, I am a zombie. I am extremely exhausted; I have brain fog; and my cognitive abilities are reduced such that sometimes I can’t form proper sentences or forget what I ate for breakfast within a few hours. (I even had to get help from multiple people to write this campaign.) I’m often dizzy, lightheaded, feverish, and/or nauseous. I’ve been cautioned about driving due to the risk of my sleepiness. I feel a tremendous amount of general crappiness, and I cannot even express how it feels. This also impacts my emotional and mental wellbeing, so those areas of wellness are also compromised.

Where I’m At Now

Now, all of my resources are tapped out. I have no money. I cannot pay for any of my bills. And the end of my health journey is still far away.

I hope to regain my life moving forward. But I need money to pay my bills until then. I need to keep a roof over my head, over my special-needs cat’s head. I need to pay the bills while continuing to work through my complex medical issues.

Alongside my social worker/case manager, I have gone through every viable program and charity that could possibly help my situation. I’ve also had tremendous support from family, close friends, and neighbors. I cannot even express how incredibly thankful I am to each of them.

I’ve applied for disability but it takes years to be processed. I’ve also cut my monthly expenses by hundreds of dollars and live on the bare minimum. I am on EBT benefits, Medicaid, reduced payment plans for various bills, and have received a grant to help pay for utilities.  

This campaign is a last resort. I have no other options. Anyone who knows me knows that my situation has to be dire to necessitate this campaign.

My ultimate goal with this campaign is to pay off my rent for May and June to avoid eviction, as well as to pay my monthly bills moving forward while I work on further diagnostics and treatment options with my medical team. I’d like to get back to a level of health and wellness that allows me to regain employment, support myself, and appreciate all the beauty life on this earth has to offer while I still can. I need help to be able to do this, and so I turn to you, my wonderful community. 

Thank You

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Truly. Humbly. It is extremely hard for a strong, independent, introverted person to ask for help. I’ve learned a lot about asking for and graciously receiving it these days. The amount of love, support, financial assistance, and physical, mental, and emotional labor that has been given to me has blessed me, humbled me, and put me in a place of immense, tangible gratitude. I cannot wait to be in a place where I can return it to the world.