This gofundme is for myself. My options for employment or gig work are diminishing further as my health conditions progress. My situation is dire.

My basic monthly needs are simple, with occasional expenses that are the biggies, like when car insurance or registration are due. My family has been exceptionally generous and gracious. They have given me small work opportunities and provided help in housing me and paying my expenses when they can. But they cannot support me.

I have applied for disability, was denied, and have an appeal pending, with little to no progression & not likely to start moving again under this administration. I understand this process takes years. Meanwhile, I do not have means for income, I have no savings, nor retirement, nor fabulously wealthy husband.

How does someone get here…?

I disabled out of dental hygiene in 2004 due to arthritis and back & neck injuries. I became a Realtor in late 2004 and had a great year in 2005, then things slowed down quickly, as the Great Recession was developing. I reinvented myself again and began selling dental materials, and eventually implants. I loved and dearly miss my sales career!

I’ve always had back issues - symptoms beginning in junior high. I have been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, slight scoliosis, and a handful of bulging discs. My back has had a full life - a spill down stairs in 1996, bus accident in Peru in 2000, snowboarding accident in 2005, etc. I’m plagued with constant pain and frequent spasms. My body now calls the shots on a daily basis.

In 2014 I began experiencing what I now know to be ME/CFS - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis type Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (possibly related to a bad giardia infection as a teen). It’s very similar to Lyme Disease - it is autoimmune & a very life-limiting illness. Trauma surrounding my dad’s disappearance & death in 2002, my bankruptcy, divorce & short sell of my house in ‘09-12, my mom’s cancer & death in 2010-11, then progressing disabilities have taken their toll on my mental health. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc.

My life has become consumed by pain & energy management.

In 2018, I couldn’t keep up with my sales job - the windshield time & schlepping supplies affected my back & sciatica, and the hours of the job, constant weekend trade shows, evening seminars, and no life partner to share the duties of life affected my already diminishing energy with ME/CFS. I moved home to be with family in SLO and began another reinvention towards what I hoped to be a masters degree and a new career I could do from home. Finances & health issues have just continued to limit my options. I lived in a 5th wheel my step mom got for me, though I couldn’t afford space rent ($1,200+ in SLO County). It had mechanical issues & became unlivable. So it lives in the repair yard for $100/ month, and doubles as my storage space. In February 2023 I began living in my car. After the two worst years of my life, I moved home to live with my stepmom in the home I grew up in. So here I am. I am selling my things on eBay & FB, but that is slow and will have diminishing returns. I’d like to start a paid Substack about Politics - summarizing issues and providing actions people can take to help make changes to our system - so hopefully that will come to fruition.

For now, these are my expenses…

1st - $100 space rent for my 5th wheel

15th - $60 phone bill

4/15 & 10/15 - $600 car insurance (every 6 months)

5/8 - $45 CDL renewal

9/1 - $300 Car registration

+ misc monthly expenses - otc medications, therapy pool membership, gas, dog food, human food when SNAP runs out, health & hygiene products, surprise expenses, etc.

$4,145 will get me through until the end of 2026.

It’s pretty humiliating to be here, asking for charity. I been proud of being self sufficient, supporting myself, traveling alone, not needing a man, knowing my way around power tools, and fixing pretty much anything! I believe in self-responsibility & self-reliance. However it is a limited ideology. I also now know how people get to the point where they sell drugs or themselves. I could never go there. But I’m about to lose my 5th wheel and my things it stores. I’m about to lose the ability to drive my car because I cannot afford gas or insurance. That makes me even more dependent on the people in my life. I’m about to lose the ability to have a phone - it’s not like not having a phone in the 80’s! These cascading circumstances compound my ability to just exist. So until I get approved for disability, or find a way to earn income, I’m asking for help. Only for those who can readily help. I know it’s tough for all of us right now. If you cannot help, your prayers would be so very appreciated! As Stephanie Rhule frequently says, “If you can help, do so, and if you need help, ask.” And if there’s anything I can do for you, I’m here.