<div>In May, one week before my husband's 61st birthday, we lost his mother.
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<div>That evening, my father, Mike, ended up in the emergency room.
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<div>**That was the day all of our lives changed.**
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<div>And it wasn't the end of the medical emergencies. Over the next two months, my dad ended up back in the ER three more times resulting in more hospital stays. What began as one frightening night became an ongoing health crisis that changed what he was physically able to do and what our family was facing.
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<div>My dad is a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He served his country, came home, built a life, and spent decades working and taking care of himself. He is also one of those men who simply does not ask for help. Asking other people to help him is about the last thing he would ever want to do.
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<div>So I am asking for him.
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<div>For more than 13 years, my dad worked an outdoor job here in Arizona. He worked through long summers and brutal desert heat year after year. But as his health declined this summer, there came a point when determination could no longer make his body tolerate what the job required.
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<div>He now requires supplemental oxygen when needed, and his health no longer allows him to safely spend his working days outside in the Arizona heat.
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<div>He had to give up the job he had held for more than 13 years.
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<div>**But he didn't give up on working.** He started looking for something his health *would* allow him to do.
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<div>He has been applying for indoor jobs, receiving callbacks, and attending interviews. Some have been for positions where his decades of experience meet or exceed the qualifications listed by the employer. More than once, we have gotten our hopes up, thinking maybe *this is finally the one*, only for him to be turned down or passed over.
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<div>Then we start again.
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<div>I search for jobs. We fill out another application. He gets another callback. He goes to another interview.
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<div>And we hope again.
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<div>At this stage in his life, starting over after losing a job he held for more than 13 years is difficult. His experience hasn't disappeared. His work ethic hasn't disappeared. His willingness to work hasn't disappeared.
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<div>**He simply needs an employer willing to give him the opportunity to use them.**
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<div>At the same time, Dad has been making enormous changes for his health and his future. After decades of drinking and smoking, **he has stopped drinking and has quit smoking.**
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<div>He is trying. But the bills don't stop while someone is trying to put his life back together.
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<div>We are starting with a goal of $15,000 to help my dad get back on his feet and give our family some breathing room while he continues looking for work he can safely do.
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<div>Right now, this isn't about luxuries or getting ahead.
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<div>I am struggling to keep the electricity on and food on the table.
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<div>None of us qualify for state assistance, and there isn't a safety net waiting underneath us. Our family was already dealing with medical expenses of our own. My husband learned that he has Type 2 diabetes and also ended up in the ER with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). I live with MCAS, EDS, and POTS, which place limitations on the kind of work I can physically do.
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<div>But we are a family that wants to work.
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<div>Dad is looking for an indoor job his health will allow him to do. I am looking for desk work that I can do within my own health limitations. My husband continues doing what he can. We are selling vehicles, offering services, selling gift cards, and trying every legitimate way we can think of to bring money in.
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<div>That is why asking for help like this isn't easy.
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<div>We don't want someone else to simply fix our lives for us. We want the chance to work our way back to stable ground. Right now, we just need enough help to keep the ground from disappearing underneath us while we do it.
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<div>And I have been trying everything I can think of to keep us afloat.
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<div>And I mean everything.
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<div>I have sat outside our home with a sign offering our vehicles for sale and gift cards for services we can provide . The idea behind the gift cards is simple: if someone doesn't need one of our services today, they can purchase it now, help us now, and use it whenever they need it.
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<div>We currently have a **2007 Ford Mustang and a 2007 Dodge Dakota truck for sale.**
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<div>For people local to the **Phoenix, Arizona area**, we are also offering several ways to help while receiving something in return.
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<div>Photography sessions and photography gift cards can be booked through **Knite Lites Photography**. Baked goods can be ordered through **Twisted Tails Café**, and social media and creative services are available through **Celestial Cat Designs**.
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<div>If someone doesn't need those services today, purchasing a gift card to use later still helps us now.
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<div>I am job hunting for my dad, trying to find him an indoor position his health will allow him to do.
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<div>I am job hunting for myself, too, looking for desk work that I can do within my own health limitations.
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<div>We aren't sitting around waiting for a GoFundMe to fix this.
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<div>**We are trying to work our way out of it.**
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<div>We have tried reaching out for help through traditional veteran resources as well. We contacted local **American Legion and VFW posts** to ask whether they knew of resources that could help my dad. We even asked whether they might simply be willing to share a **“Book a Session and Help a Veteran”** flyer with their communities.
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<div>We did not receive a response.
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<div>So we keep trying.
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<div>We sell what we can sell.
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<div>We offer the skills and services we have.
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<div>Dad keeps applying for jobs.
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<div>I keep applying for jobs.
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<div>And now I'm doing something neither of us is particularly good at:
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<div>**I'm asking for help.**
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<div>If my mom were still alive, I know exactly what I would be doing right now. I would be calling her.
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<div>My mom had a way of working magic and somehow making everything all right.
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<div>**I've tried to do the same.**
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<div>And I'm failing.
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<div>I've tried selling things. I've tried selling services. I've tried finding resources. I've tried finding work for my dad and for myself. I've tried stretching what we have far enough to cover the next electric bill, the next groceries, and whatever comes after that. Losing our car insurance October 1st.
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<div>I've reached the point where I have to admit that I cannot fix all of this by myself.
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<div>He's my dad.
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<div>We argue. We agree. We disagree. We probably drive each other crazy sometimes.
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<div>But when my baby was stillborn, my dad was there.
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<div>He was there for me during one of the hardest moments of my life. And now, when he is the one struggling, I want more than anything to be able to be there for him.
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<div>No matter how much we may argue or disagree, none of it changes the simplest part of this entire story:
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<div>He is my family.
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<div>He was there when I needed my dad.
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<div>Now I want to be there when he needs me.
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<div>And I just want to help my father get back on his feet.
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<div>If you can donate, even a small amount will help us cover immediate necessities while we continue working toward something sustainable.
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<div>If you can't donate, **please share this fundraiser.** A share could reach someone who can donate, someone who <a href="https://celestialcatdesigns.com/Sept2026Specials.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">needs one of the services we're offering</a>, someone interested in one of the vehicles, or even an employer who has the right job for my dad or me.
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<div>And if you're in the Phoenix area and would rather receive something in return for your support, please contact **<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KniteLitesAZ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Knite Lites Photography</a> ** for photography, **<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TwistedTailsCafe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twisted Tails Café</a> ** for baked goods, or **<a href="https://celestialcatdesigns.com/Sept2026Specials.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celestial Cat Designs</a> ** for social media and creative services. You can also reach out if you're interested in either vehicle.
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<div>**There are a lot of ways to help, and not all of them involve donating money without receiving something in return.**
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<div>Every donation helps.
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<div>Every purchase helps.
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<div>Every booking helps.
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<div>Every legitimate job lead helps.
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<div>Every share helps.
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<div>I don't expect one person to come along and magically fix everything. I'm just hoping enough people will help us carry a little piece of it until we can get back on our feet.
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<div>Thank you for reading this far. Thank you for sharing our story. And thank you for helping me help my dad.
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