Jessica's Battle with Lupus: Family in Need

Hello! My name is Jessica Martin, I’m a newly stay-at-home mom to my 3 beautiful children, ages 14, 9, and 4 months. July 22nd, I was diagnosed with Class 4 Lupus Nephritis in my kidneys, which as a relatively-healthy 27 year old woman with 3 young children is one of the last things we were expecting to hear when I was hospitalized for 2 weeks. Due to my sudden onset of symptoms, my husband, who works as a Police Officer had to take time off work in order to watch our children while I was hospitalized. With having a brand new baby, we had already utilized all PTO while I was on maternity leave, and with this new diagnosis, we are facing unexpected medical bills as well as financial difficulties from him having to take 2 weeks unpaid from work to take care of the kids. I have already been applying for Oklahoma financial assistance wherever I can in order to help get food on the table for our children, but the financial stress right now is more than we could have anticipated. My 2 oldest children go back to school in less than a month, and our bills are all piling up as well as the anticipated medical costs from my new diagnosis that we had no way of planning for and now have no idea how we will afford. Asking for financial help is extremely difficult for us, as we have always been the type of couple to work hard for anything we need. Any help would be greatly appreciated, even just taking the time to read our story means so much to me! If there is any way we can get back on our feet while we navigate these new challenges, we are searching for them! My husband is working extra jobs and overtime as much as possible just to help us make ends meet, but the upcoming medical costs of my new diagnosis are something we never could have planned for. I appreciate your time reading our story, and thank you in advance!