Hi, I'm Shana. I'm one of the millions of Americans who are in debt due to things like medical emergencies and bills that keep mounting because you can never quite catch up before another bill rolls in.

In 2022, I was 349 pounds. I couldn't walk a block without having to stop three times and use a rescue inhaler or just be able to breathe. I had severe mitral valve regurgitation, a high heart rate, and chronic fatigue.

Over the last three years, I've been working with my doctors to battle cardiac problems, including a mitral valve replacement, surgery to control A-Fib, and gastric bypass surgery to help me lose weight and help both my pulmonary health as well as my cardiac health and overall well-being.

Today, I weigh 100 pounds less, I haven't used my asthma inhaler in weeks, my mitral valve problems are gone, my heart rate is normal, I'm on hormone replacement therapy, I have more energy than I've had since my late 20s, and I feel more optimistic for the future.

But there's one huge hurdle; Now I'm dealing with 15 to 20 thousand dollars in medical debt.

So I'm asking for help.

I'm currently a home caregiver for my mother. I make about 35k a year, all of which goes to paying bills, making sure we have essential items, meds, groceries, and car payments of $500 a month for the new car I had to buy when my other car finally died. (I miss not having a car payment!)

My husband, Michael, also works, and he takes care of things like our mortgage, health insurance, utilities, and other necessities. He makes sure we're safe and sound, but there's no extra money to pay bills down.

All of the above is causing tremendous stress which my body needs to avoid to heal properly and the debt will just grow due to the fact that we don't have any extra income to throw at it.

I'm not able to look for work outside my home because I need to be here to help her whenever she needs me, and that includes taking her to doctors and other appointments. Plus, I need to be able to go to my doctor's appointments for ongoing care.

I don't know what else to do right now, so I'm reaching out to my friends, family, and community to see what we can make happen.

Thank you for reading.